Slow Cooker Meatballs

Almost every country has some type of meatball.  In Romania we call them “chiftele or piftele” depending which part of the country you’re from.  We fry them and sometimes make a tomato sauce in which they are left to marinate “chiftele marinate.”

This here is a simple, no frying pan needed meatball recipe.  They are cooked in the crock pot for about 5 hours.  Boil some pasta and serve them over, turn them into meatball subs, or just eat them as they are, my personal choice.

Slow Cooker Meatballs (makes about 40, 1 inch meatballs)

• 1 lb ground beef or turkey
• 1 lb italian sausage mix, your choice of sweet,mild or hot
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup freshly chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup cold milk
• 1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce

Place ground meat in large bowl, followed by the rest of the ingredients, with the exception of the spaghetti sauce.  Mix thoroughly with your hands until mixture is homogenous. Pour half jar of the spaghetti sauce in the bottom of your crock pot. Lightly wet your hands and pinch a small amount of meat from the bowl.  Roll it between your palms to form a ball, continue with the rest of the meat, placing meatballs in the crock pot as you go.  Pour the rest of the sauce over the meatballs.  Cover and cook on high for 5 hours.  When it’s time to serve, gently separate the meatballs from each other with a spoon as they stick together during cooking. Enjoy!