Yeah, raw meat balls are not too tasty looking, BUT, if you are making meat balls, you might as well make a lot. Why? You freeze them on a baking sheet and then bag them. When they are frozen, they don't stick together so when you need to make a quick batch of spaghetti and meat balls, you just take out what you need. It's kind of like a culinary bank account in your freezer! You can brown them right from the freezer, throw in your sauce, and simmer. One less worry for a great evening meal when you are having a busy day.
Whenever ground meat is on sale, I try and do this. When I have purchased four or five pounds, I spend an hour seasoning and forming the meat into meat loaves, meat balls, and hamburgers. More than once, I've been happy to call home from shopping and tell one of the children to put the frozen meat loaf into the oven for dinner. I freeze the meat loaf on oven-proof dishes. I put it in a cold oven, turn it on to 350 degrees and this avoids having the dish crack with any sudden temperature changes.
