Say Cheese Meatballs & Gluten-free!

From: Avery Aames


I shared this recipe on one of my dear friend Janet Rudolph's blogs, she has two: DYING FOR CHOCOLATE and MYSTERY FANFARE, but it bears repeating on Mystery Lovers Kitchen. This is one of my husband's and my all-time favorite meals.  It's good in June and in January. The flavors are hearty. The fixings are easy - 9 items.  And it all mashes together. Served with a simple salad, it is divine and delish.

My mother always made spaghetti as I grew up, but she never served just the meatballs. My husband and I were at an Italian restaurant in Los Angeles that boasts "gluten-free" items, so we went. He had these delicious meatballs, and I couldn't have them. They had bread crumbs in them. So I immediately sobbed in my soup. Boo-hoo. Okay, I did not sob. I did have a lovely gluten-free meal. And then I went home and made my own recipe, and the meatballs turned out exactly the same, according to my husband. They're big, about three ounces of meat in each, and moist!!

The cheese...of course the cheese...makes them superb!  Say cheese! 

Enjoy!

Italian Meatballs - Gluten-free

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef

2 eggs

1/2 cup gluten-free bread crumbs (I use Glutino – you can also mash up gluten-free rice cereal and use that)

2 tablespoons mixed herbs (rosemary, basil, thyme, parsley)

1 yellow onion, sliced thin

1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce (I use Paul Newman's Tomato Basil)

3-5 cloves garlic

6-8 slices fresh Mozzarella

1/2 cup grated Parmesan.

Directions:

Heat the oven to 300 degrees

Mix the beef, eggs, GF bread crumbs, and herbs in a bowl. Roll the mixture into six to eight "large" balls (depending on how many you are serving).

Lay a 15 x 10 cookie sheet or 9 x 13 pan with foil. 

Pour half of the pasta sauce onto the foil. Lay the onions on the sauce. Add the cloves of garlic. 

Place the beef balls on the sauce. Top each with a slice of Mozzarella. Seal the foil.

Bake for 60-90 minutes in a slow oven.

Set out three to four plates. Divide the remaining sauce among them. Place two meatballs in each serving. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

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Say cheese!

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