Making meat balls ahead of time

[Liz K]

I was planning on making meatballs and spaghetti for dinner tonight, but plans have changed. Since I have to work late tomorrow night, I thought I could go ahead and make the meatballs tonight.

Does anyone see a problem with this? Should I store them plain or in some sauce?

The recipe I'm using is from the 1997 Jan/Feb issue.

Beef Meatballs
Cooking Light Jan/Feb 1997
1 1/2 pounds ground round
1/4 cup finely shredded fresh Parmesan cheese (1 ounce)
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
3/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Cooking spray
1. Preheat oven to 400º.
2. Combine all ingredients except cooking spray in a bowl; stir well. Shape mixture into 30 (1 1/2-inch) meatballs. Place on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray.
Bake at 400º for 15 minutes or until done.

[masimmons]

Although I have not tried this recipe - yet -I always make meatballs ahead of time. In fact I usually make a double batch and freeze them. That way I can take out how many I want for dinner that night and just throw them into the sauce while it is cooking. I have never had a problem doing this and sure saves time.

[Peeps]

I make this recipe all the time and I have had great luck both freezing them or just refrigerating them if they're getting eaten within a few days. I don't put them in sauce, just a ziploc bag and that seems to work fine. I reheat them in the microwave but you could also throw them in the sauce to heat up.

[doggerham]

I' m with Peeps on this one. I make 'em, bake 'em and freeze 'em. I will often nuke at half power to thaw and toss them into the sauce to finish heating.

I love this because I can control how much meat I'm eating, or if I want to be a vegetarian for the meal.

Last summer, these were the only meat my 16 month old grandson would eat! I think he's moved on now tho.

Amy

[Ed]

Hi,

We make the posted recipe too and think it is just great.

We make up a bunch of meat balls and freeze them up after they're baked for later use and it works out just fine. We also use this recipe for the meat balls for Italian wedding soup only then we make them about half of the size the recipe calls for.

Ed

[Liz K]

Just wanted to report back that I made these on Monday and put them in the refrigerator. Reheated a few for dinner tonight and they tasted great. The rest I put in the freezer for a later date.