Spicy Italian Meatballs (and my thoughts on being single)

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Spicy Italian Meatballs are a wealth of flavor from start to finish—and perfect to make in large batches. A delicious addition to both soups and pasta.

I woke with thin rays of light yellow sunlight just barely beginning to trickle through my window. This is my favorite time of year in Florida because it means I can sleep with my windows open and feel a slight breeze as I drift off to sleep and as I wake.

At night, I fall asleep to the sounds of crickets, and in the morning, I pray that all I hear are the normal song birds and not my neighbor’s squawky chickens.

Or my other neighbors’ 9 dogs.

Altogether there are 2 wolf hounds, 1 Boston Terrier, a lab mix, a Jack Russell, 2 mutts, 1 rottweiler, and a chihuahua.

I live just outside of the city (in county), so everything goes here. One of my neighbors has a cat that lives on the roof, and they put a bowl of food up there for it. Sometimes I can see one of the local ducks from the lake waddling down the roof line toward the bowl to steal the cat food.

Last year, one of the giant tortoises from next door ATE ITS WAY through my fence, and Mike & Bob had to pour concrete in the spot to keep it from digging or eating its way any further.

There’s another woman who has 4 chihuahuas that Yip! Yip! Yip! every time they’re outside. They stir up the other 9 dogs, and then all 13 of them will bark at once.

Do you know how hard it is to film cooking videos for you, much less the entire Flavor Crash Course, with 13 dogs barking throughout the day?! LOL.

But this morning, it was perfect and still as I slipped out from between my covers and into my clothes to start the day.

I padded to the kitchen, fed my Sophie kitty, and made myself a cup of coffee before heading out to the grocery store to buy a couple things I forgot over the weekend.

Unlike so many of you dear readers with children and spouses, roommates, and farm animals…my morning was spent quietly, with nothing to interrupt me except a few brief hungry meows from my cat.

I feel that this is both a lonely time and a time to cherish. As much as I’m inclined to keep wishing for the next chapter where I envision (and wish and pray) that God blesses me with a man I can keep and love and lots and lots of babies—I know that this chapter I’m in has purpose. There is a reason I’m here. If I wasn’t supposed to be here, I wouldn’t be.

And now, for Spicy Italian Meatballs

First things first, I know some of you don’t like spicy. So if you don’t, simply leave out the red pepper flakes, and voila! You’re left with plain ol’ Italian Meatballs.

Except there’s really nothing plain about these. These are a wealth of flavor from start to finish. Here’s what’s in them:

2 lbs ground grass fed beef (alternatively 1 lb beef, 1 lb pork)
1/2 onion, minced
2 eggs
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I like to used crushed Italian croutons)
1/2 cup milk
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
2 tsp dried oregano or 1-1/2 TBSP fresh oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

These are so simple to make and perfect for creating in large batches and then storing in the freezer for later use. I love to double or even triple this recipe, so I have meatballs I can freeze and pull out anytime I need a quick flavorful punch of protein.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix together with your hands to make sure everything is distributed evenly. Chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes, then form into golf-ball sized balls and place in a single layer baking pan. Cook on 425˚F for at least 20 minutes or until slightly brown on top.