This is my first participation in a food blog event! It's Tried, Tested and True, and it's hosted by Giz and Psychgrad over at Equal Opportunity Kitchen. It's their first time hosting an event like this, and you've still got time of you want to join--submissions are due by April 14th. And don't we all have at least a few tried and true recipes? They also have a great blog, so you should check it out anyway.
So I decided to submit spaghetti and meatballs, because who doesn't like that? We all love this one. Well, except my 2 youngest boys, they only want butter and parm on their noodles. Sigh. If they only knew what they were missing!
I first got these recipes, I don't know, 4 or 5 years ago, from Allie. Her sister Bethany is one of my best friends. Allie got the recipe from their dad, and he got it from a little old Italian woman. Still with me? Good! It's the best pasta sauce and meatballs I've ever had. In fact, I gave up my old tried and true for this one. I've played with the sauce over the years and changed it a little, but the original is fabulous as is. The meatballs cook in the sauce, so they're tender and moist. Perfect. I haven't dared mess with the meatballs, because we love them so much (except that I use ground turkey instead of beef).
I'll post my version of the sauce, and you can see the original here. Oh, I also use different amounts for the sauce, because I increase it to have leftovers, and this freezes really well. I can give the measurements for these two recipes for 10, 15, or 20 servings, if anyone's interested. This makes the greatest meatball subs--add some provolone and get the bun all toasty...I'm SO glad I have some in the fridge for lunch, hehe.
One more thing...if you make your meatballs a little on the smaller side, you can cut cooking time to about 2 hours or so. And when you drop the meatballs in the sauce, don't stir for about 1/2 an hour, to give them time to set up. You can take the back of a wooden spoon and gently dunk them so they're under the sauce.
Italian Tomato Sauce (15 servings)
3 (28 ounces) cans tomato puree (if you can't find puree, which I can't lately, use crushed instead)
1 1/2 (28 ounces) cans crushed tomatoes
3/8 can tomato paste
splash of red wine
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 small onion, diced
pinch of ground cloves
1/2 Tbs basil
1/2 Tbs kosher salt
3/8 tsp fresh ground pepper
3 Tbs sugar
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
6 Tbs grated parmesan cheese
1 In a large pot over medium low heat, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until soft.
2 Add tomatoes to the pot.
3 Add all ingredients (including any meatballs or sausage you want to add) to
pot and simmer for 3 hours.
And the meatball recipe. These measurements are for 20 servings, but I like to make a huge batch so
I can freeze some for later.
Italian Meatballs (20 servings)
2 lb ground beef (I always use ground turkey!)
2 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp salt
2 tsp oregano
2 Tbs fresh parsley
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 Mix all ingredients in a large bowl by hand.
2 Roll meatballs to about the size of a golf ball.
3 Drop raw meatballs into the pot of sauce.
4 Simmer for about 3 hours, or until a tested meatball is done.
So make sure you go and check out the other Tried, Tested and True on April 14th!
