Mangia!

My favorite type of food HAS to be Italian.  Well, besides dessert, but does that really count?  Real food never stood a chance.

I don't know if my love of Italian food comes from growing up in an Italian family or just its pure deliciousness, but I know I can always fall back on something Italian when I'm trying to figure out what to eat that night.  There's something really comforting about the combination of carbs and cheese, which are ubiquitous in Italian dishes.
Even more, I really like the flexibility that Italian dishes give you.  Start with your basic carb, pasta.  You can dress that pasta up to whatever your taste is that day.  Want a standard meal? Go with a tomato based sauce.  Want something a little heartier?  Add a cheesy, creamy alfredo sauce.  Craving something light?  Try a citrusy lemon based sauce.  Looking for a fresh herb flavor?  Enjoy a delicious pesto sauce.  Add in your choice of vegetables and proteins, and you have an endless number of possibilities to satisfy whatever tastes you might have that night!

So naturally, Italian came to mind as I was deciding what to have for dinner tonight. I went with a classic, penne and meatballs.  However, I mixed it up a little by using ground turkey to make my meatballs.  Overall, I liked it, but I think I'll probably stick with ground beef in the future.  I added these to some penne with a four cheese pasta sauca, and voila! Delicious.  Recipe after the jump!

Penne & Meatballs

1 lb. ground beef or ground turkey
2/3 cup breadcrumbs *
2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese *
1/4 cup minced onion
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 egg
black pepper
salt

*roughly, more or less to taste

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Season meat with salt and pepper.  Add breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, onion, garlic, and egg.  Use hands to fold ingredients until fully incorporated.  Gently roll into golf ball sized balls, careful not to pack meatballs too firmly.  Once formed, brown meatballs in a frying pan with olive oil or a nonstick pan. Rotate meatballs to ensure browning on all sides.  Once browned, transfer meatballs to oven to finish cooking through, until the middle of the largest meatball is about 150-155°F.  I like to place the meatballs on a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet so that they can cook on all sides at the same time, but a baking sheet alone works fine as well. 
Drain pasta and return to the pan.  Add meatballs and sauce to pasta and mix well.  I like to let it simmer for as long as I can so that the meatballs really soak up the flavor and moistness of the sauce, but it's not really necessary, especially if you're really hungry.  Top with some mozzarella or parmesan, and enjoy!