Of course they’re not really magic.  Don’t be silly.  How could a meatball be magic?
Unless you mean “magic” in the sense that every time they show up on the dinner table, or in a lunchbox, or wherever, there is a noticeable lack of whining and whole lot of quiet eating.  Or “magic” in the sense that they seem to make everyone reach some sort of agreement, no matter what else has been going on just moments beforehand.  Or “magic” in the sense that no matter how many I make, there will never be enough to feed everyone.  In that case, then yeah, these are totally magic.

They’re nothing special.  They’re just meatballs.  But I think that when it comes to feeding families, there are time-honored staples that will always deserve a space on the menu, and meatballs are definitely one of those things.  I mean, think about it for a second.  They’re PERFECT for family dinners.  They’re crowd-pleasing in taste and texture; they’re versatile; they’re relatively cheap; and they freeze well.  That’s a…what, a win-win-win-win situation?

Whenever I make these basic meatballs, I make a triple batch.  Yes, triple — as in six pounds of meat to begin with.  I make six pounds of meat into meatballs, and I cook them all up, and then before I put them into any kind of sauce or anything, I throw half the batch into freezer bags and freeze them for another time.  They never wait in the freezer for very long before I grab them for quick lunches, pizza toppings, sandwiches, or to toss into pasta for a Friday night supper, but at least it stops us from eating all six pounds of meatballs at once.  Because, I’ll be honest, I think it could happen.

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