Meatballs

I've thought about meatballs a lot this past week.  It's kind of a strange subject to spend more than a few minutes thinking about, but I have.

What stemmed it was Spaghetti and Meatballs for dinner one night.  The meatballs were frozen, from the grocery store.  I've bought them many times, different brands from time to time and we've been eating them for a few years.  Well, whatever brand these are, they stink.  They don't taste good and I think that they must have a higher fat content than whatever I was buying before (since we've moved I've shopped at different stores, so I have no idea) and I don't feel so good after eating them.  But do I stop eating them?  No. 

After that meal I started to remember how my mother used to make meatballs.  She'd take an afternoon and make enough to freeze.  Then we'd open a ziploc bag of meatballs on spaghetti night and that would be dinner.  When I started cooking for myself and later, my husband, I did it the same way.  And I stopped for the same reasons that she did, it's time consuming.  It's so much easier to buy a bag of frozen meatballs and be done with it. 

Well, today one of my residents brought down a plate of four meatballs, sauce, cheese and fresh italian bread.  I had planned on going out to grab a bite to eat, but was grateful for the plate of food.  (This is one of the nicest things about working in elderly housing, by the way.)  I brought the plate into the community room with a book, and proceeded to eat.  and WHOA!  These meatballs are incredible.  They're obviously homemade, and so was the sauce.  And the bread is so fresh, it must've been bought today.

So that settles it for me.  No more frozen meatballs for this family, at least not as a staple.  Some things are worth making, and meatballs are going on that list.  I'm looking forward to getting some good quality hamburger and cranking out some meatballs for my very own freezer.  Sauce is another story.....someday I'd like to make my own but for now I'm good with jarred Newman's Own.  :)