Beef and Spinach Baked Meatballs

I haven’t made baked beef meatballs in close to two years.  They aren’t a priority for me.  But suddenly I wanted some, with homemade pasta on the side.

One problem with meal planning is the occasion that you don't really want what's on the calendar, but there's nothing else in the house to prepare.  We had such a mild summer in my area, it didn't occur to me that there might be a huge heat wave the day I planned to turn on the oven.  I did it anyway, and even made the fettuccine from scratch.  At least the sauce was out of a jar, or that would have been two burners going.

I bought marjoram for probably the first time ever because it was on the clearance rack.  Then there was an extra discount I didn't know about on my loyalty card, so it was just over a dollar for a $6 container.  When I opened it, I realized this was the herb missing from my homemade Italian seasoning mix.  It isn't quite oregano.  More floral notes, like basil.

I used a pound of the 73/27 beef for this, knowing that there would be a significant layer of fat once they baked.  I was able to pour off more than half of what was sitting on top of the sauce in the baking dish.  And I have to admit, the extra fat made them extra yummy.

1 lb ground beef
2 C frozen chopped spinach, thawed
2 Tb flour, breadcrumbs, or *matzoh meal
1 Tb Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
*1-1/2 C marinara or your favorite pasta sauce
*Parmesan cheese and cooked pasta for serving, if desired

1.  Start preheating oven to 350º.  Pour sauce in bottom of a 9" x 13" casserole and swirl to coat the bottom.

2.  In a bowl, combine beef, thawed spinach (I kind of forgot the thawing part), breadcrumbs, seasoning, and salt.  Knead until evenly distributed.

3.  Portion and roll mixture into 16-ish balls.  Arrange in casserole dish.  You don't need to coat the meatballs.

4.  Bake about 30 minutes, until center of meatballs reach 160º.  Allow to rest until no longer bubbling, 5 minutes.  Serve hot, over pasta if desired and with a sprinkling of cheese.

Difficulty rating  :)