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Italian Recipes

Pesto

Pesto Recipe

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Pesto recipe is originated from the Genoese word which means ‘to crush’ and it is a sauce used from the 16th century by crushing garlic,… Read More »Pesto Recipe

Italian Sausage Rigatoni

Italian Sausage Rigatoni Recipe

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Italian Sausage Rigatoni
Italian sausage rigatoni is an easy meat and pasta dish to prepare for dinner. The recipe calls for ground Italian sausage but I like to cook the links with the casing on and then slice them and add them to the sauce. The sauce in this recipe gets a lot of flavor from red wine, garlic, tomatoes, and fresh basil. This recipe goes great with parmesan cheese on top and I like to serve it with garlic bread. Enjoy.
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Slow Cooker Pork Ragu

Slow Cooker Pork Ragu Recipe

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Slow Cooker Pork Ragu
A delicious meat sauce to serve over cooked pasta is pork ragu. You can prepare pork ragu on the stovetop but I prefer the slow cooker. Just simply throw all of the ingredients into the crock pot, let it cook, shred the meat and it is ready to serve. The ragu gets a lot of flavor from red wine, tomatoes, garlic, carrot and onion. You can use whatever type of pasta you want to this recipe but I used pappardelle. I like to serve this recipe with garlic bread on the side. Enjoy.
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Short Rib Ragu

Short Rib Ragu Recipe

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Short Rib Ragu
When a friend gave me a can of San Marzano tomatoes I knew it was time to prepare a short rib ragu. I decided to use beef short ribs and let the slow cooker do all of the work for me. This ragu gets a lot of flavor from the short ribs, San Marazano tomatoes, wine, and thyme. Additonal flavor comes from onion, garlic and carrot. The type of pasta used in this recipe is pappardella but you could use other types such as linguini. I like to serve this dish with garlic bread and ricotta cheese.
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Ravioli with Garlic Basil Oil

Ravioli with Garlic Basil Oil Recipe

Ravioli with Garlic Basil Oil
Preparing a garlic basil oil to go on raviolis is a good alternative to regular spaghetti sauce. You can use whatever brand of ravioli you like for this recipe. I used two different flavors cheese and Italian sausage. The garlic basil oil is prepared in the pan gets a lot of flavor from fresh garlic and basil, as well as crushed red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese. I like to serve this recipe with garlic bread. Enjoy.
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Italian Lasagna Recipe

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Italian lasagna is always a great choice if you need a dish to prepare for dinner that will serve several people or can be eaten as leftovers. This lasagna is layered with a meat sauce, mozzarella cheese and a ricotta cheese mixture. The sauce is an Italian Bolognese that gets a lot of flavor from celery, onion, carrots, and garlic. A little bit of red wine is added into the sauce for amazing flavor. The sauce uses two meats—ground beef and pork. The ricotta layer gets a lot of flavor from fresh basil and parmesan cheese. Preparing lasagna does require a good amount of work but it is well worth it. You can serve this recipe with garlic bread on the side. Enjoy.
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Ricotta Meatballs Recipe


One ingredient that can make meatballs moist, tender, and delicious is ricotta cheese. In this recipe the ricotta cheese is mixed right into the meatballs. The meatballs get a lot of flavor from ingredients such as garlic, ricotta cheese and breadcrumbs. You can serve these meatballs with whatever type of pasta that you like. Enjoy.
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Pizza Hut Meaty Marinara Recipe

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I always enjoy eating the meaty marinara pasta from pizza hut. The meaty marinara consists of marinara sauce with ground beef, rotini pasta, and cheese. The marinara sauce is prepared on the stovetop and gets a lot of flavor from ingredients such as garlic and basil. Once the sauce is prepared it is mixed with the cooked rotini pasta and placed into a baking dish and topped with a generous amount of mozzarella cheese. The casserole is then baked to perfection in the oven and ready to serve with delicious breadsticks. Enjoy!
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Pizza Meatballs Recipe

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Pizza meatballs are stuffed with mozzarella cheese and coated with pizza sauce. The meatballs get a lot of flavor from ingredients such as garlic salt, dried onion, and seasoned breadcrumbs. For this recipe, I used small pieces of fresh mozzarella. The meatballs are baked in the oven so no cooking on the stovetop is required. The sauce is just a simple combination of jarred pizza sauce and diced pepperoni. You can serve this recipe with whatever type of pasta you like, I used thin spaghetti. Enjoy.
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Smoked Sausage Spaghetti Recipe

Smoked Sausage Spaghetti
This smoked sausage spaghetti is easy to prepare and makes for a great dinner. The smoked sausage is sliced and then fried in the pan before the sauce is prepared. The sauce is a combination of crushed tomatoes, wine, and various seasonings. Fresh parsley and basil are added to give this dish a nice and fresh flavor. I like to serve this recipe with garlic bread. Enjoy.
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Asiago Stuffed Meatballs Recipe

Asiago Stuffed Meatballs
Meatballs are amazing when they are stuffed with fresh asiago cheese. These meatballs use a combination of ground beef and pork. The meatball ingredients are mixed in a bowl and then formed into meatballs that are stuffed with cheese. The meatballs get a lot of flavor from garlic, parmesan, salt and pepper. You can fry the meatballs in the pan but I like to bake them in the oven, it is less messy and requires very little effort. You can use whatever type of pasta sauce you want for this recipe. I like marinara. If you cannot find fresh asiago you can use mozzarella instead. Enjoy.
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Chicken Parmesan Manicotti Recipe

Chicken Parmesan Manicotti
The ingredients and chicken parmesan go great stuffed into manicotti shells. These chicken parmesan manicotti are loaded with shredded chicken, ricotta cheese, and parmesan cheese. The stuffed manicotti shells are topped with a homemade sauce and then baked in the oven. This recipe gets a lot of flavor from seasonings such as basil and oregano. I like to serve this dish with garlic bread on the side. Enjoy.
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Manicotti with Meat Sauce Recipe

Manicotti with Meat Sauce
This is a recipe for manicotti with meat sauce that is baked in a casserole dish. The manicotti is stuffed with ricotta cheese, fresh oregano, and parmesan. The sauce is just a simple combination of ground beef, garlic, crushed tomatoes, and seasonings. The manicotti is topped off with a layer of shredded parmesan cheese. It is a little bit of work to stuff the cheese mixture into the manicotti shells but it is worth the effort. I like to serve this recipe with garlic bread. Enjoy.
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How to Make Stromboli

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Stromboli
If you want to know how to make Stromboli, this recipe is exactly what you are looking for. Making Stromboli is very easy and using store bought ingredients helps to speed up the process a lot. This recipe uses pizza ingredients such as sauce, pepperoni, and Italian sausage. A premade crust is laid on out a flat surface and then topped with sauce, Italian sausage, pepperoni, and cheese and then rolled up and baked to perfection. I like to serve this Stromboli with additional pizza sauce on the side. Enjoy.
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Slow Cooker Beef Ragu Recipe

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Slow Cooker Beef Ragu
This beef ragu can be easily made in the slow cooker. Just brown the beef on the stove top add it to the slow cooker with the other ingredients and let it simmer all day. This is a simple recipe that uses common ingredients, most of which you probably already have on hand. This ragu gets a lot of its flavor from the classic onion, garlic, celery and carrot combination. The sauce is tomato based using both crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Once the beef chunks have finished cooking in the slow cooker, they are shredded and then returned to the sauce and it is pretty much ready to serve. The noodles are cooked and then tossed with the sauce in a pan. I like to serve this recipe with garlic bread. Enjoy.

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Sausage Stuffed Manicotti Recipe

Sausage Stuffed Manicotti
Sausage stuffed manicotti are delicious served for dinner with garlic bread. The sausage mixture is a combination if Italian sausage, breadcrumbs, egg, and parmesan, provolone and mozzarella cheeses. Stuffing the manicotti does require a little bit of effort but it is worth it. You can use whatever type of spaghetti sauce you want for this recipe or even make your own. You can even make your own sausage if you want, give this cudighi recipe a try! Enjoy.
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Blackened Chicken Alfredo Recipe

Blackened Chicken Alfredo
Instead of classic chicken alfredo, the chicken is seasoned with blackened seasoning in this delicious recipe. The blackened seasoning is just a mixture of common spices that you probably already have on hand. The cayenne pepper in the seasoning gives this dish a little bit of spice. The alfredo sauce is a combination of heavy cream, shallot, butter, and parmesan cheese. You can use whatever type of pasta you like for this recipe such as fettucine or linguini. I like to serve this recipe with garlic bread. Enjoy.
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Crispy Chicken with Penne Pasta Recipe

Crispy Chicken with Penne Pasta
This crispy chicken with garlic penne pasta is great for dinner. The chicken marinated in a lemon and garlic mixture and then coated with breadcrumbs and fried. The garlic penne gets a lot of flavor from garlic, milk and chicken broth. The chicken only needs to be marinated for about 5-10 minutes so this recipe can be prepared quickly. If you want to add a little parmesan cheese to the garlic penne, it is delicious! You can serve this dish with some garlic bread if you desire. Enjoy.
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Lasagna Stuffed Shells Recipe

Lasagna Stuffed Shells
These delicious lasagna stuffed shells are great to serve for dinner. The shells are stuffed with ricotta and mozzarella cheese, parsley, parmesan cheese and egg. You can use cottage cheese in place of the ricotta if you would prefer. The shells are topped off with a meat sauce that gets a lot of its flavor from various seasonings, tomato sauce and tomato paste. The shells are placed into a baking dish with the sauce and then baked in the oven until fully cooked. The most work that is involved in this recipe is stuffing the ingredients into the shells. I like to serve this recipe with garlic bread. Enjoy.
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Mozzarella Stuffed Turkey Meatballs Recipe

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Mozzarella Stuffed Turkey Meatballs
These turkey meatballs are Italian style and are stuffed with cubes of mozzarella cheese. The meatballs use classic Italian ingredients such as garlic, Italian seasoning, Romano cheese, and fresh parsley. The meatballs are baked in the oven and then served with a homemade sauce. The sauce is just a simple combination of crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. The red pepper flakes add a little kick to the sauce without making it too spicy. The original recipe called for browning the meatballs in oil on the stovetop before baking them but I cooked them fully in the oven. Using turkey in meatballs is a healthier alternative than ground beef. Serve with cooked pasta. Enjoy.
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Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs Recipe

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Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs
Meatballs get even better when they are stuffed with mozzarella cheese. The meatballs are cooked in the slow cooker right in the spaghetti sauce. You can use either your favorite brand of sauce or even make your own. The meatballs use two different types of meat—spicy Italian sausage and ground beef. I really like the flavor that the Italian sausage adds to this recipe. Try to form the ground beef mixture as well as you can around the cheese cubes so that it does not leak out while cooking. However, it is normal for some of the cheese to come out. I like to serve these meatballs with spaghetti noodles. Enjoy.
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Garlic Bread Pizza Recipe

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Garlic Bread Pizza
If you are looking for a really easy dinner to prepare, this garlic bread pizza is perfect for you. French bread is spread with a garlic and butter mixture and then topped off with pizza ingredients such as sauce, cheese and pepperoni. I like to slice the French bread in half or cut the French bread into individual slices. If you want to put a little extra work in you can even make your own pizza sauce. This recipe can also be served as an appetizer. Enjoy.
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Turkey and Zucchini Meatballs Recipe

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Turkey and Zucchini Meatballs
These turkey and zucchini meatballs are perfect for this time of year to use up that abundance of fresh zucchini you may have. The meatballs are also a healthy alternative to meatballs with more traditional ingredients such as breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. This recipe uses ingredients for the meatballs such as ground turkey, grated zucchini and onion, and garlic. There is also a homemade sauce that goes with this dish. The sauce is tomato based and gets a lot of its flavor from Italian seasoning. To add a little bit of heat to the sauce, a small amount of crushed red pepper flakes are used. You can serve this recipe with pasta or just serve the meatballs with the sauce. Enjoy.
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Ravioli Casserole Recipe

ravioli casserole
This ravioli casserole reminds me of lasagna. Cheese ravioli is layered with a meat sauce and mozzarella and parmesan cheese in a casserole dish and then baked in the oven. The meat sauce is homemade and gets a lot of its flavor from Italian sausage. You can use your favorite brand of ravioli for this recipe. If you are looking for an easy meal, this casserole is easy to prepare and the only real work that is required is preparing the sauce. Serve with garlic bread. Enjoy.
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Meatballs and Marinara Recipe

meatballs and marinara
Preparing meatballs and marinara sauce is a great idea for dinner. This recipe does require a little bit of effort but it is well worth it. The homemade marinara sauce uses crushed tomatoes and gets a lot of its flavor from onion, garlic, oregano and basil. The meatballs use classic Italian ingredients such as parmesan cheese, Italian sausage, hamburger, and parsley. The meatballs are browned in the oven so there is no need to fry them in hot oil. After the meatballs are browned they are placed into the marinara sauce to simmer until fully cooked. This recipe will make about 8 to 10 servings, so you will be able to feed a large crowd or have leftovers. You can also freeze the meatballs and marinara for up to 1 month. You can serve the meatballs and sauce over pasta such as spaghetti or linguini. I also like to serve them with garlic bread. Enjoy.
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Million Dollar Spaghetti Recipe

million dollar spaghetti
I always enjoy a good spaghetti recipe and this Million Dollar Spaghetti is great. This spaghetti is baked in the oven in a casserole dish. Noodles are topped with butter and a cream cheese mixture, spaghetti sauce, and cheese. For the spaghetti sauce, I have included a simple sauce recipe but you could also use your favorite homemade sauce or store bought sauce. You can substitute the ground beef with Italian sausage if you would prefer. You can also replace the cheddar cheese with mozzarella or an Italian cheese blend might be good on this casserole. I like to serve this recipe with garlic bread. Enjoy.
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Pizza Stuffed Shells Recipe

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pizza stuffed shells
The ingredients of pizza go great stuffed into pasta shells. These pizza stuffed shells do require a little bit of work to prepare but they are worth it. The shells are stuffed with ingredients such as Italian sausage, ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, garlic and onion. Once the shells are stuffed, they are covered in pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni. I really like the combination of Italian sausage and pepperoni, it really adds a nice flavor to this dish. You can add additional pizza toppings to this recipe as well, such as green pepper and sliced mushrooms. I like to serve these pizza stuffed shells with garlic bread. Enjoy.
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Grilled Chicken Parmesan Recipe

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grilled chicken parmesan
If you are looking to prepare chicken parmesan without the use of an oven, this grilled chicken parmesan is perfect for you. This recipe differs from normal chicken parmesan because the chicken is not breaded at all. The chicken is seasoned with salt and pepper and then grilled and topped with a homemade marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. The sauce gets a lot of its flavor from ingredients such as crushed tomatoes, parmesan cheese and fresh basil. You can use either an outdoor grill or an indoor grill pan for this recipe. If needed the chicken could also be cooked in the frying pan. I like to serve this dish with linguini noodles and garlic bread. Enjoy.
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Meatballs with Tomato Sauce Recipe

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meatballs with tomato sauce
Meatballs with a homemade tomato sauce are perfect when served over spaghetti noodles. What I like about this recipe is that the meatballs are browned in and pan and then finished cooking right in the sauce. The meatballs use a few simple ingredients such as parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, and parsley. You can use ground turkey or pork instead of the beef if you would prefer. The sauce is tomato based and gets a lot of its flavor from ingredients such as crushed tomatoes, bay leaves, onion and garlic. You will want to use a very deep skillet or pot for this recipe. I like to serve these meatballs with garlic bread or cheese sticks. Enjoy.
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Italian Baked Chicken Recipe

Italian Baked Chicken
During the colder months an excellent recipe to prepare in the oven is Italian baked chicken. This recipe consists of chicken coated with breadcrumbs and topped with marinara sauce, ricotta cheese, and mozzarella cheese. You can use your favorite brand of marinara sauce or even make your own if you want. This dish is very similar to chicken parmesan with the addition of ricotta cheese. The ingredients can easily be doubled if you want to make enough to serve 4 people. I like to serve this recipe with extra heated marinara and linguini noodles. Enjoy.
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Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs Recipe

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Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs
Preparing turkey meatballs in the slow cooker is so easy and delicious you may never want to go back to pan frying or baking again. There is no browning of the meatballs involved in this recipe, the meatballs are just rolled and then added into the crock pot with the sauce. Using ground turkey is a healthier alternative from ground beef. The only use of a frying pan in this recipe is to brown the garlic. If you want more sauce you can add an extra can of crushed tomatoes. This recipe uses standard Italian meatball ingredients such as egg, breadcrumbs, parsley, parmesan cheese and seasonings. When you roll the meatballs, try and roll them softly. You do not want to pack the meatballs too tight because they will become tough while cooking. These meatballs go great served over pasta. Enjoy.
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Bacon Meatballs Recipe

bacon meatballs
These meatballs are loaded with great tasting ingredients such as applewood smoked bacon and cheese. What is really great about these meatballs is that they have a different flavor than most meatballs that I have tried. The meatballs get a lot of their flavor from the onion soup mix that is mixed into them. These meatballs are baked in the oven so no pan-frying is required. To make things even better, this recipe includes a homemade marinara sauce. The marinade sauce gets a lot of its flavor from fresh basil and oregano and a little heat from the crushed red pepper flakes. This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled to serve a large crowd. Enjoy.
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Tortellini Salad Recipe

tortellini salad
With summer quickly approaching it is a good time to start thinking about ideas for cold salads. This tortellini salad makes an excellent side dish for summer cookouts, graduation parties, or any event. This salad combines cheese tortellini with mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, cherry tomatoes and fresh basil. The salad is tossed with Caesar salad dressing. I like to use a lighter Caesar dressing instead of the creamy kind because it gives the salad and different flavor and appearance. If you do not want to use Caesar salad dressing, Italian salad dressing would be a good option as well. If you need a delicious cold salad recipe for summer, give this one a try. Enjoy.
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Bacon Spaghetti Recipe

bacon spaghetti
The flavor that bacon can add to spaghetti is truly delicious. This recipe for bacon spaghetti has a different flavor than most recipes can provide. The unique flavor comes from ingredients such as bacon and beef broth. What is great about this dish is how easy it is to prepare—it can be ready to serve in less than an hour if you want. You can allow the sauce to simmer a little longer if you would prefer more flavor. The sauce can also be made in advance, stored in the refrigerator and then reheated when you are ready to make dinner. To save time you can use precooked bacon and heat it in the pan. The precooked bacon should only take a couple of minutes to cook and will produce less grease. This recipe makes a great dinner for any night of the week. Serve with garlic bread. Enjoy.
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Slow Cooker Sunday Gravy Recipe

slow cooker Sunday gravy
This recipe for slow cooker Sunday Gravy might just be one of the best Italian recipes ever. This dish can be a little expensive and time consuming to make but it is well worth it in the end. There are three different types of meats that are in this dish—meatballs, boneless ribs, and Italian sausage. The slow cooker does most of the work but you will still have to brown the meat in the pan. You will notice that there are not many seasonings included in the ingredients list for the sauce because most of the flavor comes from the meat while it is being slow cooked. The pork really helps to give this dish a unique and delicious flavor. If you are looking to feed a large crowd this recipe will serve many people. The gravy goes great served on top of just about any type of pasta. Enjoy.
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Provolone Stuffed Meatballs Recipe

pProvolone Stuffed Meatballs
This is a copycat right for the provolone stuffed meatballs at Applebee’s restaurant. The meatballs are simmered in marinara sauce and then placed on top of alfredo noodles to serve. I thought the combination of both alfredo and marinara sauce kind of creates a flavor that is similar to a tomato cream sauce. The meatballs use 3 different types of meats—ground beef, ground pork and ground veal. If you would prefer you can use all ground beef. If you do not want to brown the meatballs in the pan you can brown them in the oven at 350 degrees F. and then finish them in the sauce. You could also fully cook them in the oven if you want. It should take about 25-30 minutes to bake them at 350 degrees F. Make sure that the internal temperature has reached 160 degrees F. before removing them from the oven. Serve with garlic bread. Enjoy.
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