Spaghetti and Meatballs

My 5-year old recently turned into a huge meat-eater after almost 4 years of eating very little meat. One of his favorite things is spaghetti and meatballs.  If it is on the menu at a restaurant, he usually orders it...and eats a ton of it. We have quite a bit of beef in our freezer right now, since we ordered a 1/4 share of a cow and split it with friends.  I decided to use some of the ground beef to make meatballs for my family.  I made enough meatballs to freeze some.  Since the beef was frozen, I had to go ahead and fully cook all of the meatballs before I froze them.  My preference would be to use fresh ground beef and freeze the meatballs before I cooked them.  I was watching the Food Network one day and saw a commercial that offered a cooking "shortcut" for meatballs that I tried here.  Instead of using ground pork and a bunch of different seasonings, just use Italian sausage.   I tried it and it worked out great.  I did add some Italian seasoning to the  mixture because I only used 1/2 pound sausage and 1 pound of ground beef.  I wanted the extra flavor.  I also made and baked the meatballs during naptime...that way the majority of the mess was cleaned up before dinner!

My son ate 7 meatballs when I made this.

Meatballs
makes 36 - 40 meatballs

1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
1/3 cup grated asiago cheese (parmesan  or romano can also be used)
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
2 eggs, lightly beaten

1) Mix all ingredients listed above.
2) Shape into 1-inch balls (I used a cookie scoop) and place on a baking sheet.
3) Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until meatballs are done in the center.
4) Drain on paper towels.

To make spaghetti and meatballs, heat up your favorite spaghetti sauce on the stove and add the meatballs. Simmer for 20 minutes.  Add to spaghetti, cooked according to package instructions. Top with parmesan cheese.