Calabrian Chili Meatballs
& greetings from Alaska!
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CATCH UP!
Hello from Cordova, Alaska! I cannot believe I am here right now. Everyone talks about how beautiful Alaska is, so I knew it would be stunning, but it really is surreal to experience it myself.
I’m here on a trip with Copper River Salmon in Cordova, a tiny fishing town that is untouched by tourism. I love traveling and have been to many places, but it’s rare I get to visit an intimate town like this as a guest and get to meet and interact with all the locals.
I’ll share more details of the trip next week once I’m back, but I am sharing on my Instagram stories right now if you want to follow along. I seriously cannot get over how gorgeous the scenery is here. And as you can imagine, I’m eating an abundance of fresh salmon, aka I’m living out my greatest dream.
More later! xx
THINGS I’M LOVING!
I really wanted a pair of honey brown sunglasses, and I couldn’t resist these rounded rectangular sunglasses from Dezi Eyewear. I was actually seeing these all over TikTok shop, but I Googled them, and they are a legit brand that are even sold in Nordstrom!
I’ve been really into using glass straws recently with my beverages, maybe because it’s summer, and I’ve been sipping on iced drinks. Straws just make things more fun, but we don’t use single-use plastic in this house, oh no! Glass straws all the way!
If you haven’t tried the Brightland Pizza Oil yet, I promise you, it’s worth the hype. It’s a finishing oil that has flavors that are supposed to vibe with pizza: oregano, jalapeño, green pepper, and other herbs. Is that not the best thing you’ve ever heard of? You can drizzle it on pizza (obviously), but I’ve been using mine on eggs, potatoes, etc.
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RECIPE!
My favorite way to make meatballs is drenched in marinara sauce with some melty cheese. I eat it out of a bowl almost like pasta. It’s a great last minute meal because you just cook it all one skillet, and you could even pair it with pasta or some crusty bread for even more goodness.
It’s also no secret that I am obsessed with Calabrian chilis, and I can’t believe it has taken me 33 years of life to use them in meatballs.
This recipe was inspired and adapted from The Bold Appetite, who has an amazing Calabrian Chili Meatball recipe of her own. I took a few shortcuts here by using premade marinara instead of making my own (I am a Raos girl forever), and I modified the meatball recipe by using just beef, cutting down on the breadcrumbs, omitting the Parmesan, and adding some parsley into the meatballs!
I chopped up my onion because I like a little texture in my meatballs, but if you want them to be smoother, you can grate your onion like Eden did in her recipe!
Calabrian Chili Meatballs
Ingredients (serves 2-4)
1 lb 80/20 ground beef
3 tbsp chopped Calabrian chili (from a jar)
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
4 cloves finely chopped garlic
3 tbsp minced parsley
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
24 oz jar marinara sauce (I used Raos)
1 cup shredded mozzarella
8-10 basil leaves
1. Preheat oven to 375 F. In a large bowl, add the ground beef, Calabrian chilis, onion, garlic, parsley, breadcrumbs, egg, salt, and oregano. Mix together with your hands until evenly combined, making sure not to overmix. Roll into 12-15 small meatballs, and then set aside.
2. Heat up the jar of marinara sauce in a large oven-safe skillet on medium heat until it just begins to simmer. Turn off the heat, and add the meatballs to the skillet. Cover, and bake for 13 minutes. Top with cheese, and then bake for another 8-10 minutes. To get the cheese extra melty, broil on high for 2-3 minutes. Remove from oven, and top with basil leaves when serving!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!
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