Category: Meats

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Italian Sausage and Beef Meatballs

I was at the grocery store this past weekend and found sweet Italian Sausage and Aged Angus Ground Beef both on sale for $3 a pound.

I’ll have a pound of each please.

When I got home I started thinking about what to make with a pound of Italian sausage and a pound of ground beef.  Meatballs!
Toss these into some Tomato Sauce 2.  You really didn’t want a vegetarian meal anyway.

Italian Sausage and Beef Meatballs

1 lb ground beef (80/20)

1 lb sweet mild Italian sausage, bulk

Leftover Italian or French bread, coarsely chopped

Milk

1 egg

1 cup Parmesan cheese

White wine

  1. In a large mixing bowl, mix the coarsely chopped Italian bread with just enough milk to moisten.  Beat in the egg, add a pinch of oregano or basil (optional) and incorporate the Parmesan cheese.
  2. Mix in the meats and blend well.  Chill for 20-30 minutes in the refrigerator.
  3. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  4. Form 1.5 – 2 inch meatballs and spread evenly in a roasting pan large enough so that the meatballs don’t touch one another.
  5. Add a little white wine and water to the bottom of the roasting pan and bake the meatballs for 40-45 minutes.
  6. Cool and drain the meatballs on paper towels to absorb as much grease as possible.
  7. Toss into Tomato Sauce 2 and simmer for two hours.
  8. Serve over pasta or make into sandwiches.

 

Tips – note the basil and oregano are optional.  Go light on the herbs and spices because any Italian sausage you buy will already be seasoned well, and perhaps salted fairly well also.  When using sausage in meatballs, you won’t need a lot of additional spices.  When I was younger, I fried my meatballs.  Nowadays I prefer roasting my meatballs in the oven with a little wine.

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Italian Meatloaf

Italian Meatloaf

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 red pepper, seeded, small dice
1 onion, diced
2 teaspoons (about 3 cloves) chopped garlic
2 pounds ground beef (or 1 pound ground turkey and 1 pound beef)
2 eggs
3/4 cup bread crumbs (Italian or Panko)
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped basil leaves
1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat and add the peppers, onions and garlic. Saute until just soft, remove to a plate and cool.
  3. When the peppers and onions are cool, combine all of the remaining ingredients together.
  4. Form the meat mixture into 2 loaf (brain) shapes on an oiled oven tray or baking dish.
  5. Bake for approximately 50 to 60 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees F in the middle of the meatloaf. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice and serve.

 

When the kids were little I never made meatloaf.  They hated meatloaf.  When I was growing up as a kid my parents never made meatloaf.  I hated meatloaf.

Time passes, people change, tastes change.  I guess decades of going meatloaf-less made me want meatloaf more.  I only started making meatloaf when MedFed began.  MedFed is the code name for meals that freeze well that can be defrosted, heated up, and eaten by time starved medical school students who would quite frankly probably eat anything you put in front of them.  The only problem with my new found meatloaf craving was finding the perfect recipe.

This recipe is adapted from the Food Network’s Michael Chiarello.  It’s tasty, simple, and hearty.  Serve this up with some loaded mashed potatoes and a green vegetable.

TIP – The recipe will make two meatloaves.  There’s nothing better than a cold meatloaf sandwich the next day.  I’ve also heard rumors that you can chop up this leftover meatloaf, heat it up in some marinara sauce, and serve over pasta.  Sounds like something a medical school student would do.

Substituting dried for fresh herbs is OK.  I usually make this with a mixture of beef and turkey.  85/15 is good.  Don’t use ground turkey breast, use regular ground turkey.

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Sausage, Peppers, and Onions

Growing up in New Jersey a lot of comfort food was Italian.  I’m not bragging, but I cook some mean Italian.  The only problem was my Italian never quite tasted the same as the Italian I grew up with.  So you keep searching, trying different recipes until you come across The One.  Well, almost.

This recipe is a new find, liberally adapted from Giada De Laurentiis‘ recipe of the same name.  The last time I made this dish I used fresh chicken sausage seasoned with feta cheese and spinach.  The time before I used chicken sausage with basil and added boneless chicken thighs.  Try pork sausages in this dish.  I’m pretty confident the end result will be tasty.

Serve over rice or pasta.  A nice red California Zinfandel would be awesome.  Don’t forget the crusty bread to soak up the sauce.

Napkins!  Don’t forget the napkins!

Sausage, Peppers and Onions

Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

2 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian Chicken sausage

1 red bell pepper sliced
1 sweet yellow onion sliced
1 t salt
1 t black pepper
1/2 t dried oregano
1/2 t dried basil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 T tomato paste
1 cup sweet Marsala wine
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausages and cook until brown on both sides, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain.

Over medium heat, add the peppers, onions, salt, and pepper and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the oregano, basil, and garlic and cook 2 more minutes.

Add the tomato paste and stir. Add the Marsala wine and tomatoes. Stir, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the browned bits. Bring to a simmer.

Cut the sausages into 4 to 6 pieces each, about 1-inch cubes. Add the sausage back to the pan and stir to combine. Cook until the sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes.

Sides

A simple green salad or fresh green beans sautéed in olive oil and garlic completes the meal.  Doubling the recipe will give you plenty of leftovers for sandwiches later in the week.  This dish freezes well.

Addendum – sweet Marsala wine.  The original post omitted sweet.  But if you use dry Marsala, let me know how it turns out.