Ingredients: Ground beef, pesto sauce, garlic, bread crumbs, eggs, pepper, and salt.
In a large bowl, combine 1 to 1½ pounds of quality thawed ground beef with ¾ cup of pesto sauce, a couple cloves of pressed garlic, one egg (whisked), and one cup of bread crumbs. It makes it easier if you use crushed croutons. That way you don’t have to add much salt to the meat. Add fresh ground peppercorns. Mix thoroughly.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Try to roll the meatballs so that they’re all about the same size for even cooking. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes until they’re nice and brown.
Top with a bit of extra pesto sauce if you like. These are delicious with simple pasta, in sub sandwiches, or as an appetizer.
Experiment: Spice them up by adding dried red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper. Try adding fresh diced peppers for a different flavor. Add half a cup of grated Parmesan, Asiago, Romano, or even a scoop of Ricotta cheese. Cook the meatballs ahead of time and freeze them for later use.
Thank you very much for the dinner idea – I have all the ingredients. I never seem to get around to planning menus until Monday afternoon so I’m usually scrambling for Monday dinners . . . not tonight
I think I’ll go with ground turkey instead of beef and we’ll see how it turns out!