Italian meatballs with red pepper flakes.

These are yummy, yummy, yummy and so easy to put together.

For the sauce, you will need:

1/2 lb of hamburger meat
1 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1 medium onion chopped
2 or 3 cloves of minced garlic
1 6 oz can of tomato paste
1 28 oz can of tomato purree
1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil
1 tsp of dried oregano
2 tbsp of chopped parsley
2 to 3 cups of water
1 Parmesan rind for seasoning the sauce

For the meatballs, you will need:

1 1/2 cups of hamburger meat
3 tbsp of Parmesan cheese freshly grated
1 tsp of oregano
1 egg
1/4 cup of milk
1 cup of breadcrumbs
1 tsp of red pepper flakes

1. Brown the hamburger meat in the olive oil and salt and pepper.
2. Once browned, add in the onions and garlic and saute until fragrant.
3. Add in the herbs, tomato puree, tomato paste, leftover Parmesan rind and water and stir to combine.
4. Let sauce come to a simmering boil and lower the heat.
5. Begin preparing the meatballs.
6. Add all ingredients to the meat and mix with your hands just until combined. (you don’t want to over mix the mixture)
7. Roll into balls and drop into the simmering sauce.
8. Do not stir them for the first 5 minutes so that they have a chance to set up.
9. Once you stir them, cover them with a lid and let them simmer slowly for about 2 hours.

At this point, your meatballs are ready and you may proceed with spaghetti and meatballs, meatball pizza, meatball subs, etc. SO YUMMY and easy! Enjoy