In my family we also browned in a pan, then did the bulk of the cooking in the sauce. They don't really reach full potential until the second day in the sauce.
We always made with just ground beef, but probably because ground pork and ground veal was not readily available. With that being said, veal is a little mild for me, so I'd rather just use ground beef and ground pork.
The two sides of the family were split between bread and bread crumbs; I usually opt for bread soaked in a little milk.
My basic recipe is ground beef/ pork, egg, soaked bread, salt, dried parsley, pepper and parmigiano. Can add garlic salt/ powder or real sauteed garlic (but usually the sauce brings the garlic flavor). Brown in a pot, preferrably in grease from the hot and sweet italian sausages you already browned, then get the tomato sauce going in the pot and add the sausages and meatballs. Simmer for, oh I dunno, two to three weeks :groucho: And to make the meatballs even better, add some pork ribs to the sauce as well :hungry: