Skip to main content

Nanni's Meatballs

 

Around Christmas time last year my Nanni passed away. She left behind a beautiful and well lived life which made possible 4 children, 14 grandchildren, 1 great grandchild, and countless friends and extended family. She was a cancer survivor, an active member of her church, and enjoyed a cup of coffee and always had cookies on deck for the grandkids. 

I wanted to honor her with a recipe from a beautiful book put together by her daughter, my Aunt Kim, which became a tearful Christmas gift because none of us knew last year that she wouldn't be there to share it. The cookbook contains recipes from Nanni's personal collection, both handwritten and typed, and also includes many recipes from other family members to create a Stilwell Family Cookbook across generations. 

I decided to use Nanni's meatball recipe to highlight her skills in the kitchen with simple family style meal. The recipe below is my take on her original dish. If you're looking for an easy, delicious, crowd pleasing Christmas Eve dinner, this might be just for you 💓

Serves 6

Time to finish: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 2-3 slices bread, torn into small pieces
  • 2 eggs, slightly beaten
  • 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
  • salt and pepper
  • Bread crumbs as needed
  • Olive oil
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • Sugar
  • Your favorite red sauce (16-32 oz jar)
    • I used a meat flavored pasta sauce
  • Your favorite pasta (16 oz box)
    • I used penne but ziti, spaghetti, or linguini are also great choices!
Directions:
  • Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a sauce pan on low-medium heat
  • Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent (5-8 minutes)
    • Do not burn! If the onions start to burn, turn down the heat
  • While the onions cook, add ground beef, bread, and eggs, salt, and pepper to a large mixing bowl
  • Mix meatball ingredients together using hands
  • If mixture is too wet, add seasoned breadcrumbs
    • Mixture should be moist enough to form into balls but not super sticky to the touch
  • Form mixture into 2 inch meatballs
  • Add garlic to the pan and sauté until fragrant
  • Place meatballs in the sauce pan with the in onions
  • Brown for 1 minute on all sides
  • Add a large portion of your favorite red sauce to the pan and mix through the onions and meatballs until everything is coated and scraping browned bits from the bottom of the pan
  • Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally
  • While sauce simmers, prepare the pasta according to package instructions
    • Cook to el dente, strain, toss with a small amount of olive oil, salt, and pepper
  • Taste your sauce! Add salt, pepper, and sugar in small amounts until it tastes just right. Less is more!
  • Serve over cooked, strained, and seasoned pasta
Extra Love:
  • I used ground venison with my meatballs and they turned out delicious! If you decide to use venison instead of ground beef, I recommend using butter in your pan instead of olive oil because venison is so low in fat that is will dry out quickly
  • Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese and a crusty garlic bread
  • Any dark green veggie would make an excellent side like broccoli, asparagus, or brussel sprouts

I hope your holiday is filled with loved ones, delicious foods, warm cocoa, and extra love. If not, there is always room at my table. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ham and Navy Bean Soup

Want to chase away the winter chills with a delicious, comforting, flavorful soup? You found the right recipe! This recipe can truly take leftover ham to the next level, and will make hearts and tummies happy, healthy, and full. I have also added instructions for freezing this soup in the Extra Love section so you can continue to enjoy it throughout the winter. Serves 10-12 Time to finish : 2 hours (not including time for soaking navy beans) Ingredients : 1 lb dried navy beans 3 tbsp olive oil 1 yellow onion, diced 4 carrots, chopped 2 celery stalks, chopped 10 garlic cloves, minced 8 cups chicken broth 14.5 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes 1 bay leaf 1 tsp garlic powder dash of oregano dash of thyme dash of dried, ground sage dash of dried rosemary dash of dried basil 2 cups green cabbage, shredded 2-3 cups cooked ham, chopped salt and pepper to taste Directions : Rinse the dried navy beans and cover with several inches of water. Allow to soak overnight or for 6-8 hours...
Post a Comment
Read more

Paul's Shepherd's Pie

I have to credit my dad for this one! Growing up, Dad had one or two nights a week to cook dinner and our most frequently requested dish was his "famous" Shepherd's Pie. After receiving lots of requests for the recipe over the past few years that I have been making it, I am finally able to share it with you. With Dad's permission, of course! For those that don't know (or do know), my dad is kind of a bad-ass. He's an avid hiker and adventurer, and has instilled the love of the outdoors in myself and my two brothers. He's a pretty awesome dad, so I couldn't get away with creating this post and not adding a photo of him in his total bad-assery! I took this photo while thru-hiking with Dad and my brothers in the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness area of the Northern Colorado range of the Rocky Mountains. Special Tips: Using softened butter in the mashed potatoes will make them creamier, and give the perfect texture to top the beef mixture The mor...
2 comments
Read more

Pizza Dough for Days

This pizza dough is so easy to make, and totally worth the 24 hour proofing period. It can be done by kneading with your hands or using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. I'll take you through both ways in the steps below, and you'll be that much closer to making your own perfect pizza crust! There are a lot of steps, but they're easier than you think! Did I mention that this makes enough dough for 4 medium sized pizzas?? AND it can be frozen! I have to give a shout out to my colleague Sean for talking about pizza with me constantly! We went back and forth, each experimenting with different flours, equipment, and proofing times until we each came up with our personal favorites. Maybe he will give me his secret recipe to share with you someday! :D Special Tips:  Prepared all of your ingredients ahead so you have things like flour and olive oil right at your fingertips! Make the dough the day before you actually want to make the pizza! A 24 hour cold rise g...
2 comments
Read more