Psycho Balls

What do you get when you combine ground beef with Psycho Chicken and blend in a little Sopranos reruns?

Psycho Balls, of course! You won't believe what else I added (if you know me, you'd believe it).

Inspired by those end of summer reruns, a fellow O'Fallon Farmer's Market vendor and market customer, I created "Psycho Balls". Last Saturday, the jellies and pies vendor yelled across the tents about her idea to make burgers by putting the Southwest Seasoning in ground beef first. Meanwhile, while enjoying a couple days in the Ozarks near the Current River, I received an email from my Garlic Earth T-Shirt winner about his "Psycho Chicken". I'm afraid John is having separation anxiety from his Italian Seasoning :). He sprinkled Italian on one side of a piece of chicken and the Southwest on the other side. I thank both of them for being the inspiration behind this recipe!

Psycho Balls
Makes 4 large meatballs

3 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup mixture of bread crumbs, panko bread crumbs, almond meal, flax seed meal
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. Garlic Earth Italian Garlic Seasoning
1 tsp. Garlic Earth Italian Southwest Seasoning
1.5 pounds mixture of ground beef, ground turkey (veal or pork can be added, too)
few dashes of black pepper
1 egg
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 pound spaghetti noodles (I used half organic white with half whole wheat pasta)

Heat the oil in a nonstick pan over med-low heat. In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumb mixture with the milk and seasoning. Mix well with a spoon. Add the rest of the ingredients and combine well with your hands. Let the mixture marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Cut the meat mixture in half. Make 2 meatballs out of each half to create 4 meatballs. Place the meatballs in the hot oil, and brown all around. Gently squeeze the meatballs with tongs on occasion to help them keep a round shape.

Pour the sauce over the meatballs, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes while the pasta is cooking.

I cut each meatball in half and placed it on top of spaghetti on the center of the plate. You can then top with Parmesan cheese and serve.