Spaghetti and Meatballs with Homemade Red Sauce

Spaghetti and meatballs is one of my favorite comfort foods.  Considering how much I love it at home, I should really think about ordering it more often when dining out at Italian restaurants.  I tend to overlook spaghetti and meatballs in favor of a more “exciting” dish, but maybe I’ll give it a chance next time.  When I make meatballs at home, I always make extra, and then we use the leftover meatballs to make meatball subs on hoagies with provolone or mozzarella cheese.  You can also assemble the meatballs (without baking them) and freeze them for future use.  I feel like once you’re on a roll assembling the meatballs, and you’re already up to your wrists in ground meat, you might as well make more so you don’t have to mess with it next time.  I serve the meatballs with my homemade red sauce.  Making your own sauce is not that much work, and my recipe makes lots of sauce.  It is easily divided into smaller containers and frozen for future use.

Meatballs

adapted from Betty Crocker Cookbook

4 Servings

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder

Directions: Heat oven to 400 degrees F.  Mix all ingredients.  Shape mixture into sixteen 2 inch meatballs.  Place in ungreased rectangular pan, 13 x 9 x 2 inches, or on rack in broiler pan.  Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until no longer pink in center.

Homemade Red Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 (28 ounce) can tomato puree
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomato with basil
• 1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (6 ounce) can of tomato paste, Italian style
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 1 cup Romano cheese

Directions:  In a large saucepan, lightly saute garlic in olive oil at medium heat, 2 -3 minutes.  Place remaining ingredients in saucepan, bring to a gentle boil.  Simmer at least 30 minutes, but if you’ve got the time, the longer, the better.  Stir frequently.