For the past (almost) year now, we’ve been doing Disney family movie nights. We create a themed menu inspired by our movie of the night and tonight’s movie is Lady and the Tramp.

Although we do enjoy getting creative with our menu, we absolutely had to recreate the iconic spaghetti and meatball scene. We always try to create a menu our kids can help get involved with, so tonight my sous chef was our 4 year old. Pasta is his favorite and he really wanted to make extra large meatballs, so that’s just what we did! We hope you enjoy this ever-evolving family recipe.

Lady’s Mega Meatballs:

• 1 lb ground Italian sausage
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup garlic and herb bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup Asiago & Romano, Parmesan cheese
• 2 packs Italian dressing seasoning mix
• 1 finely diced onion
• 4-6 cloves minced garlic
• Fresh, finely chopped basil
• 2 tablespoons oregano
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic salt
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon pepper
• Olive oil for cooking

First, start by getting your oil ready. In a skillet, add olive oil over a medium to high heat. Allow the oil to heat while you begin creating your meatballs.

In a mixing bowl, combine the Italian sausage and ground turkey. Dice your onion, garlic and basil really small (we used a manual food chopper). Sprinkle in all of your dry spices and seasonings. Finally, crack your eggs in a small bowl and whip with a fork before adding it to the mixing bowl.

Once all of your ingredients are in your bowl, stir on a medium setting (we used our flat beater attachment) or you can mix by hand.

Next, you’re going to form your meatballs. We made ours about 2 inches round, but they can be made smaller. The best way to get that true ball shape is to grab the mixture and roll by hand to form a ball. Once you have your ball shape, place on a plate and form the rest of your meatballs. Once all of your meatballs are made, you can start cooking.

The best way to ensure each meatball is cooked evenly is to place each meatball in a clockwise order. Think of your skillet as the face of a clock. Place one meatball at 12 o’clock, the next at 1, then 2, and so on. We fit about 7 meatballs in at a time and then place one in the center of the oil. After about 2-3 minutes, the meatball at the top of the oil should have started to brown, (If you feel the meatballs are cooking too fast, lower your heat. You don’t want the outside to burn and the center to stay raw. Likewise, you can also raise the temperature if they are cooking to slowly.)

Once you have a good color on your meatballs, begin turning them at the 12 o’clock meatball. Follow in the order you placed them into the oil. Once the other side is browned, carefully remove from oil. If you’re making larger meatballs you may find that the sides are still slightly undercooked. You can keep the meatballs in the oil to cook a little longer on each side to ensure an even cook.

Now that your meatballs are all cooked you can add them to your pasta sauce or eat as they are! Serve immediately and enjoy!