Slow Cooked Meatballs

Last year in Olivia's Five in the Row Cookbook she needed a slow cooker for one of the recipes. I had not used one up to that point, so it was a new experience for both of us. The stew we made together turned out very well.

Since that time, I've been looking for recipes for the slow cooker. I came across this pin from Can You Stay for Dinner. The recipe was very easy to make, and everyone liked them.

Slow Cooked Meatballs that I made.

Slow Cooked Meatballs
Yield: 4

Ingredients for the Meatballs:

1 pound lean ground beef or turkey (I used ground beef)
½ cup fresh bread crumbs (1 slice of your favorite bread ground in a food processor)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons fresh minced basil
¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup milk

Remaining Ingredients:

½ large onion, chopped
16 ounces (2 cups) of your favorite homemade or store-bought marinara sauce

Directions:

Combine all meatball ingredients in a large bowl using your hands. Do not overmix. Roll the mixture into balls roughly 1 1/2″ in diameter.

Scatter the onion over the base of your slow cooker, followed by the meatballs. Pour the sauce evenly over the top, making sure to coat everything.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Notes: 

It is important to get the leanest meat because there is no opportunity to drain the fat.

I also sprayed the slow cooker with vegetable spray so nothing would stick to it. It made the clean up very easy.

My slow cooker doesn't have an option of cooking on low for 6 hours. I had to cook it on high for 6 hours which worked out fine.

This could be used as a spaghetti sauce if noodles were made on the stove right before dinner. Another idea we had was to use the meatballs and sauce to make a meatball sandwich.