Spaghetti and Meatballs

I love home made spaghetti sauce and meatballs sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. I always try to keep a can of tomatoes on hand so I can make spaghetti sauce when I don't have any other ideas for dinner (or am not wanting to come up with something else to eat.) I add minced vegetables to the sauce, I've tried carrots, spinach, green bell pepper, and red bell pepper.

The meatballs are wonderful, I make them with 1 Tbsp meat-mixture apiece. The size of these makes it very tempting to pop just on in your mouth while you're preparing the meal. Of course all of you know that 'just one' turns into more... I usu sally eat about 3-4 while I finish making the meal. The best thing about these meatballs is that they can be frozen and reheated. To reheat them, I just put them in spaghetti sauce for 10-20 minutes (or until they are warm).

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Spaghetti Sauce -
In a medium to large saucepan, saute 3 cloves garlic and 1/4 cup onion - I used green onion once, and it works well, but regular onion works great - Add 1 cup veggies (any combination you choose, I personally love the flavor that red bell pepper adds) in 1 Tbsp olive oil until tender.
Add 3 cups tomatoes pureed and 1 can (4 oz) tomato paste.
Add 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 2 bay leaves and 1 tsp sugar.
Let simmer for at least 1/2 hour to allow the flavors to combine.
Remove bay leaves.

Meatballs -
In a medium bowl, combine 1 lb lean ground beef, 1 medium onion-chopped, 1/3 cup dry bread crumbs (I like to use Italian flavored bread crumbs), 1/4 cup milk, 1 egg, 1 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper.Mix until combined. I chopped the onions larger in this batch, but they are better when the onion pieces are smaller.
Shape into balls and place on a cookie sheet. It makes about 40 1-Tbsp balls.
Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until they reach 160 degrees.
Remove from oven. (If freezing, let cool and place in freezer bags, and to reheat place in spaghetti sauce for 10-20 minutes)

Serve over spaghetti, top with spaghetti sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.Or if you're my husband, you'll cover your spaghetti in cheese.Enjoy!
Printer Friendly Spaghetti Sauce

Printer Friendly Meatballs