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Uncle Steve’s Jumbo Meatballs and Cheese Casserole

The very best jumbo meatballs you’ll ever eat! Baked with trio pasta and loads of mozzarella cheese.

By tastykitchen · From Open Recipes · 11 ingredients
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Uncle Steve’s Jumbo Meatballs and Cheese Casserole

Why it works: Oregano and basil match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,390 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Uncle Steve’s Jumbo Meatballs and Cheese Casserole

Serves 4
Prep12 min
Cook30 min

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1278Calories
70 gProtein
38 gFat
160 gCarbs

Counts 12 of 13 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Beef100g cooked250
Pasta1 cup cooked (140g)220
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Mozzarella Cheese1 oz (28g)85
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Spinach1 cup raw (30g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Oregano1 tsp dried (1.8g)5
Basil5 leaves fresh (2.5g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Meatnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By tastykitchen. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Oregano + basiltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,390 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Oregano + pastatop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together364 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

  3. Pepper + basiltop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,294 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

  4. Basil + pastatop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together853 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

  5. Pepper + oreganotop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the basil

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, meat, pepper, oregano, egg, milk, pasta):

  1. Thymefits about as well
  2. Rosemaryfits about as well
  3. Parsleyfits about as well
  4. Basilthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, meat, pepper, oregano, egg, milk, pasta. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.