Spaghetti and meatballs. That’s a combination that a lot of people find very appealing. After all, what’s not to like about one of the all-time, ultimate comfort foods?

But spaghetti isn’t the only form of pasta that is a suitable companion for meatballs. In fact, if I had my druthers, there are oodles of other noodles that can stand up to spaghetti.

One of those is the egg noodle, a versatile pantry staple that goes well in variety of pasta dishes, including soups, casseroles and even just buttered with grated Parmesan cheese, parsley and plenty of butter.

Here’s an egg noodle entree that I recently made. It’s a revamped version of one that caught my eye on Facebook. The main change I made was to substitute ground pork and bison for the ground beef. I also cut in half the amount of butter.

This recipe gives comfort food favorites such as meatloaf, mac ‘n’ cheese and chicken dumplings ― even spaghetti and meatballs ― a run for their money.

Meatball And Egg Noodle Delight
1 pound ground beef or bison
1 pound ground pork
¼ cup brown mustard
¼ cup ketchup
3 beef bouillon, crushed
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, halved and sliced
2½ cups beef broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon brown mustard
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 pound egg noodles, cooked al dente and drained

To make the meatballs, combine the first 8 ingredients in a large bowl and mix until completely combined. Form into medium-sized meatballs.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter. When melted, add half of meatballs and brown. Remove and repeat with rest of meatballs.
In the same skillet, add the onions and cook for about 4 minutes, until golden brown.

In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with ½ cup beef broth.

Next, add to skillet 2 cups of beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup and mustard. Stir to scrape the  bits off the bottom of skillet. Bring to a gentle boil and add cornstarch mixture.

Return meatballs to pan, reduce heat to low and allow to simmer in sauce for about 10 minutes.

Serve meatballs and sauce over egg noodles.