24 small fresh button mushrooms
3 cups red wine
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 lb Italian sausage (with fennel seed/red pepper flake)
1 lb. hamburger (lean)
1/2 onion, chopped fine
1/2 bell pepper, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic (minced in salt)
1 cup Italian style croutons, crushed
2 eggs, beaten well
1/2 can tomato sauce
4 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, minced
2 tablespoons basil, chopped
2 tablespoons oregano, chopped
1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)

1. The night before preparing meatballs, wash, drain, dry button mushrooms, leaving most of stems on. Put in a glass container and soak in red wine and 1 tsp. garlic powder. You can cover with a plastic wrap, force out any air, and hold down with a utensil or two. A couple of empty jars will also work.

2. Dry off mushrooms. With meats cold, mix the hamburger and sausage together, flatten it out on wax paper to 1/2 inch and sprinkle all the remaining ingredients on the meat. Fold in half, and push the ingredients into the meat. Separate from the wax paper into a plastic sack, and kneed the meat, mixing in the ingredients. Adjust the sticking by adding or decreasing the amount of tomato sauce. A firm meat mixture is needed.

Spread the meat out on wax paper again, grab a mushroom and make a meat ball around it. Place your 24 meatballs on two baking pans (Pizza pans with side lip work well), and cook at 350°F for 45-60 minutes.

Serve with your favorite tomato/wine sauce and pasta.

Submitted by: Mike Prince