Meatball Hamburgers - cooking recipe

Ingredients

ground beef
parsley - to taste
basil - to taste
salt and pepper - to taste
1/2 c bread crumbs/pound of meat
1 egg per pound of meat
1 jar of favorite spaghetti sauce per pound of meatballs
toppings - mozzarella, banana peppers, black olives etc.
lettuce ribbons
buns

Preparation

Mix the desired toppings and set aside.

Take the ground beef and spread it lightly in a large baking pan. Sprinkle with spices and bread crumbs. Beat the eggs lightly and drizzle over all. Now lightly mix to evenly distribute spices, eggs and bread crumbs, but do not overmix. Form desired amount of large meatballs for sandwiches and spaghetti. Do not press the meatballs together too much or they will be tough. Brown over low heat in a skillet.

While they brown, put the rest of the meat mixture in loaf pans and press lightly. Cover with some foil and freeze. When you're ready to use this, simply take the meatloaf out of the freezer, place in oven and bake at 325 to 350. Top with favorite spaghetti sauce after first 30 minutes or so of cooking. Cook until center is no longer pink.

Freeze what meatballs you won't use right away for later use on a sheet, then place individually into a large freezer bag. These can be used for either Italian Spaghetti or meatball hamburgers as you go. Just microwave meatballs to thaw them out and simmer in sauce for 20 to 30 minutes. Use over spaghetti noodles or buns, whichever is desired.

For that evening's sandwiches, take one of the large meatballs and break it up a little bit on a plate. Sprinkle this with cheese and toppings and microwave about 30 seconds to just melt cheese. Transfer to hamburger buns and top with lettuce. Serve with carrot chips and celery sticks.