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1
Heat Olive Oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Saute garlic and onions until fragrant. Add carrots and saute until soft.
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2
While onion mixture is cooking, soak the cooked quinoa in the red wine in a small bowl.
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3
Add mushrooms to medium-hot pan with onion mixture and continue to cook until all the water has been released from them. Then quickly add the sun-dried tomatoes and balsamic vinegar, turning up heat to high. Stir constantly until balsamic vinegar is nearly cooked down.
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4
Turn pan to low. Add quinoa/wine mixture, basil, and chipotle, stirring until well combined. Salt and pepper mixture to taste and remove from heat.
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5
In a large bowl add cooled onion/quinoa mixture, meats, ketchup, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, cheese, oregano. Mix gently with your hands until well combined. Refrigerate mixture for at least 1 hour.
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6
Remove mix from fridge and mold into balls. (The size of the meatballs is completely your preference - we prefer to make them smaller when we are serving them with a long/thin pasta or large when serving with a shaped pasta.)
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7
Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. (The meats used here are lean so some oil is necessary for non-stick and flavor purposes.)
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8
Brown meatballs in batches (without crowding), turning frequently, about 5-7 minutes per batch, depending on the size of your balls.
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9
Meanwhile, boil water for pasta and heat your preferred Marinara sauce. Cook pasta until al dente.
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10
Add cooked meatballs to marinara sauce and simmer for several minutes.
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11
Serve pasta in bowls, ladling sauce and meatballs over it, sprinkled with cheese.
