Spicy Meat Balls 'N Sauce
Submitted by nilsen
Homestyle beef meatballs with oats simmered in a spicy tomato sauce with green peppers, onion, and cayenne. Serve over buttered rice for a filling weeknight dinner.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
60 minREADY
75 minThese aren’t fancy restaurant meatballs. These are the ones Mom used to make on a Wednesday night when everybody was hungry and nobody wanted to wait. Ground beef bound with rolled oats, milk, and egg gets shaped into a dozen big, satisfying balls and browned until crusty.
The sauce is all about that slow simmer. Canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, green peppers, and onion cook down with cayenne, oregano, and a bay leaf until thick and rich. Drop the meatballs back in, cover, and let everything bubble together for 45 minutes.
Pile them over hot buttered rice and call it a night.
Kitchen Tips
- Rolled oats instead of breadcrumbs give these meatballs a heartier, chewier texture that holds up well in the sauce.
- Don’t overcrowd the skillet when browning. Work in batches to get a real sear on each meatball.
- Remove the bay leaf before serving. Nobody wants to bite into that.
- The sauce thickens as it simmers. If it gets too thick, splash in a little water to loosen it up.
Ingredients
Directions
For meat balls, combine all ingredients thoroughly.
Shape to form 12 meatballs.
Brown in a small amount of shortening in large skillet.
Remove meat balls.
For sauce, lightly brown onion and green pepper in drippings.
Add remaining ingredients; simmer over low heat about 15 minutes.
Add meat balls to sauce; cover and simmer about 45 minutes.
Remove bay leaf.
Serve with hot buttered rice.
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