Swedish Meatballs

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Add bread to a food processor and pulse until broken into small pieces (pea size). Add all remaining Meatball Ingredients EXCEPT beef and pork and pulse 3-5 times until thoroughly combined. It will be paste-like consistency.

Add this mixture to ground beef and pork in a large bowl. Using your hands, mix just until combined. It will seem very wet, which is good. Roll into approximately 24 meatballs using a 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop and space evenly on the prepared baking sheet. If your meatballs are too wet to form for whatever reason, add some breadcrumbs to firm them up. *If you are making your meatballs in advance, you can cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate them.

Bake meatballs for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees F or just until meatballs are cooked through (take care not to overcook your meatballs so they remain super tender).

During the last 10 minutes of baking, make Gravy. Melt butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle in flour and cook for 1 minute. Reduce heat to low, and slowly whisk in beef broth and heavy cream, followed by all remaining Sauce ingredients.

Bring the Sauce to a simmer until thickened, approximately 5-7 minutes, stirring often. Taste and add salt to taste. Add the meatballs (I dab off any extra grease from the baking sheet), coat them in the sauce, and continue to simmer gently until the meatballs are heated through, approximately 1 minute.

Garnish with fresh parsley if desired and serve with egg noodles or mashed potatoes.