MEATBALLS (Adapted from Mama Melillo's)

two pounds ground chuck
one pound Johnsonville "Sweet Italian Sausage"
2 eggs and one yolk
1 cup grated Romano cheese
2 cups seasoned Italian bread crumbs
1-1/2 tbsp freshly minced garlic
salt and peper as desired

The original recipe called for 3-1/2 tbsps each oregano and basil. Since we were using Italian sausage instead of ground pork, we omited and the meatballs were fine. We might tweak this.

Combin all ingreadients in a large bowl. User your hands to make sure all ingredients are well blended. Roll meat mixture into ball and place on foil lined baking sheet. Cook at 400 deg for 15-20 minutes. Cooked meatballs can be frozen up to one month. Drop browned meatballs into simmering sauce up to 2 hours before eating to finish cooking.
We refrigerated and the next day, dumped into crockpot on high five hours before serving. Used two bottles of Bertolli Marinara Sauce.

The original recipe, "Mama Melillo's Meatballs," was in the CJ, 7 Jan 09

Note: Dec, 2019 we used turkey Italian sausage because some can't eat pork. 

Note: Dec, 2019, only mix one batch at a time if using stand mixer; add the bread crumbs with the meat.

NOTE: 22July2025, we used this recipe: Classic Italian Meatballs (Tender and Juicy) It very well be our go to recipe from here on.