Italian Pasta Rings with Mini Meatballs
Bring back childhood memories with this easy recipe for Italian pasta rings with mini meatballs. A great recipe for kids and adults! This recipe is for 4 people and makes about 75 meatballs.
Ingredients
Pasta
- 2 cups dry Anelletti Durum Wheat Semolina Pasta (cooked per directions or your desired tenderness) note: 2 cups of this pasta will usually feed 4 people
- 1/2 teaspoon salt for boiling pasta
- 1 Tablespoon butter
Sauce Ingredients
- 1 29 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional) If kiddos will be eating this dish you may want to omit this ingredient.
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup whole milk
Meatball Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage (I used mild)
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 Tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
Prepare Pasta
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Prepare a large pot of water with salt and cook Anelletti Durum Wheat Semolina Pasta according to directions on package. Drain water from pasta, add butter and stir until butter has melted and set aside covered.
Meatballs
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Place all meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix until completely combined. Then make mini meatballs. Crazy as it may sound, I use a 2 1/4 teaspoon for making these mini meatballs to keep them uniform in weight but use what works for you. After meatballs are formed and rolled place them on a baking sheet covered with foil that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. I got about 30-45 meatballs on a baking sheet and filled 2 baking sheets with a total of 75 mini meatballs.
Bake meatballs in a 400 degree Fahrenheit preheated oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until meatballs reach at least an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Use a meat thermometer to make sure meatballs are cooked thoroughly. Carefully remove from oven, place baking sheet on a cooling rack and allow meatballs to rest until cooled.
Prepare Sauce
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Place all sauce ingredients except milk into a medium sauce pan and cook over medium heat until sauce become steamy but not quite to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add milk and continue stirring until milk has been totally incorporated.
Place cooked pasta in a bowl, cover with desired amount of sauce add 3-4 meatballs and viola’…Homemade Italian Pasta Rings with Mini Meatballs! Enjoy!