Splattery Meatballs

Can you have too many meatball recipes? I fell like not. Nicholas would say no, never too many. That boy LOVES meatballs of all sorts. I found this recipe and decided to give it a try since it also involved pasta. Let's be honest, pasta sauce makes my stomach angry too... but I still love it and make that sacrifice for my family. (Stupid allergies, intolerances and well... who knows what else.)
I was able to make these meatballs ahead, which made dinner that night so very easy. Really this recipe is easy to start with. I used a dough whisk to mix up the meat - I'm not interested in squeezing raw meat between my fingers. Yeah... no thanks - hard pass. But... I did the part I'm not a fan of - rolling the balls to make them a little more compact and round. These held in the fridge for a day and a half. They baked up in the pasta sauce splattering all over the pan. Oh my goodness the splatter!! Enough splatter that we smelled it the next day when we turned on the oven! Oops!
We ate these on a night when Bronwyn was at a sleepover - she doesn't like meatballs of any kind, but Nicholas declared them delicious and said we should have them again son when Bronwyn was home to give them a try. We asked her and wasn't overly thrilled at that idea.
These were very good. So good on pasta, and Andy had some left overs as a snack the other night - so guessing a late night snack too? Either way - prepare for splatter and delicious meatballs.

Meatball Bake
1 pound ground beef
2 large eggs
3/4 cup (about 3 ounces) freshly ground Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)
1 (25-ounce) jar good tomato-based pasta sauce
1/2 cup fresh torn basil (from 3 large sprigs), optional - for serving
Cooked polenta, noodles, rice, or vegetables, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, blend together the beef, eggs, cheese, oats, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes. You can use a fork, but I find my hands to be the best tool here.
Pour the tomato sauce across the bottom of a 12-inch oven proof skillet. Using your hands, form the meat mixture into about 20 golf ball-sized balls, rolling each between your palms to make it smooth before nestling it into the sauce.
Bake the meatballs for 30 minutes, or until browned on top and cooked though. Sprinkle with the basil and serve piping hot, over polenta, noodles, rice, or vegetables, with extra Parmesan on the side.