Sweet and Savory Meatballs for St. Joseph's Day

The other day I was asked by one of the Mom's at Miss J's school to join the scholarship comity I quickly asked what does this entail because as you all know I wear a lot of hats in my home and in my life. The person from my daughters school said there are two dinners per year plus a handful of other fundraisers. I quickly said yes and then asked what was the next function, and they told me it was the Feast of Saint Joseph's Dinner their annual Pasta Dinner. I knew right away that it would be a good fit and I offered to give a necklace out of a jewelry line that I used to produce. So as soon as I said yes I don't know why but I  always revert back to food and my food imagination goes wild and immediately I thought  of this great dinner that I originally had OnefabulousMoms Best Meat Balls Ever at her house  one night., she happens to be my neighbor However, I didn’t have the recipe. So I went back to my taste bud, until after I made my own recipe up from  memory and I remembered they were a sweet and savory and there was some kind of dried fruit in them. She had told me that she had originally got the recipe from the Oprah Show.  I wanted to make it my own so I went to the drawing board and this is what I ended up with. If your looking for a fabulous meatball recipe I believe this is where its at.

Makes 15 to 20 Meatballs depending on Size.

Sweet and Savory Meatballs:
1 package Italian sausage (mild or spicy depending what you like! remove casings
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon cumin seed
1 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 cup chopped dates
1 cup grated Parmesan/Romano cheese
3/4 cup Glutino bread crumbs you can use regular bread crumbs too but I like these because my little one is Gluten Free.
2 teaspoons Dried Basil
3 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Jar of your favorite Jarred Marinara Sauce
Cooking Spray

Equipment Needed:
1 Frying Pan
1 set of tongs
Paper towels to drain on
1 Plate to place Paper towels on
1 crock pot
wooden spoon to rest oil

Combine in a bowl all ingredients and mash together until fully .

Preheat Olive Oil in a Frying Pan.

Tip of the day: To test and see if oil is ready place the end of a wooden spoon in oil if you get bubbles its ready.

Next use a Mellon Baller or cookie scoop about the size of a Ping Pong Ball and scoop Meatballs then roll in your hand until ball forms. You will need to do these meatballs in batches so as soon as you are done making all balls . Slowly brown. You are only going to brown.

Do not overcook because you will be cooking in Slow Cooker after you brown in that Jarred Marinara sauce.  After you have browned all Meatballs drain on paper towel.Next spray crock pot with Cooking spray. Then poor Jarred Marinara sauce in Crock pot place on high and carefully place in Marinara Sauce.

Flip after an hour Cook on high for 2 hours. Or on low for 4 hours. Serve Over your favorite Pasta.


Enjoy and Bon Appetite



Sheila Fretz