3
9
88
0
0
My sister Laura has the sweetest Mother-in-Law named Rose. Rose has shared many wonderful Italian recipes with Laura over the years and this is one of them. Whenever Laura has a party at her house, Laura and Rose always put together the most delicious spread. It is such a pleasure eating their traditional dishes! We always walk away well fed because Rose always makes sure we had enough. She’s such a sweet heart!
Laura recently made this Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe for my Mom’s birthday, so I thought I’d share it with you not only because it’s delicious, but it’s a great “make-ahead” recipe!
I think the key ingredient to these tender meatballs is the fresh bread crumbs. Here’s a tip from Laura:
When you have a few leftover hamburger buns, a few pieces of bread, or the end of a fresh loaf of bread hanging around and you think they might not get eaten, throw them in a freezer bag and freeze them for when you need some fresh bread crumbs. Frozen hamburger buns can be grated by hand or you can thaw the bread and throw fresh pieces of bread in a food processor and have great bread crumbs in seconds.
Thank you for sharing this recipe Laura and Rose! You are both awesome cooks! Now onto the recipe!
First, saute the onion in olive oil until a few pieces start to brown.
Add the tomato paste.
Stir in the water and Kitchen Ready Tomatoes. (Start with 4 1/2 cups of water. You can always add more later if it’s too thick or acidic.)
Stir in the salt, pepper, dried basil, Italian seasoning, and sugar. Stir well and simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally.
Make the meatballs and drop them into the sauce carefully. Bring the sauce back to a very light boil, then turn it down to medium-low and simmer for an hour. Stir occasionally. If the sauce is sticking to the bottom of the pan when you stir it, turn the heat down a bit. Test one of the meatballs to make sure they are cooked through.
Rose’s Spaghetti Sauce and Meatballs
Sauce Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, diced
two (12 oz. cans) tomato paste
4 1/2 to 5 1/2 cups of water
28 oz. can “Kitchen Ready” (ground peeled) tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
Meatball Ingredients
2 lbs. ground beef (85% lean)
2 cups fresh bread crumbs
1 cup grated Romano cheese
3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 large eggs
1/3 to 1/2 cup water
Pasta: 1 lb. serves 4 adults
Directions
1. To make the sauce: Heat the oil in a large dutch oven on medium heat. Add the onion and stir occasionally until a few pieces start to brown. Add the tomato paste, water, Kitchen Ready tomatoes, salt, pepper, basil, Italian seasoning, and sugar. Mix well and bring to a light boil. Reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally. If the sauce sticks to the bottom of the pot, reduce the heat a bit.
2. While the sauce is cooking, make the meatballs. In a large bowl, combine all of the meatball ingredients. Wet your hands with water and form the meatballs. (I use about 1/4 cup of the mixture for one meatball.) After the sauce has cooked for one hour, drop the uncooked meatballs into the sauce carefully. Bring the sauce back to a light boil on medium heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for an hour. The sauce should lightly bubble in order for the meatballs to cook through. I like to test one meatball after the hour is up just to make sure they’re cooked through.
This recipe serves about 8 people.
Freezing Directions: Cool the sauce and meatballs completely in the refrigerator. Fill plastic containers or freezer bags with portions that fit your family. Label and freeze for 3 months.
398800
I always love to see how other people make their sauce and meatballs. This looks wonderful. I’ll have to make sure the bread crumbs are fresh!
Yumm…looks great!!! Another recipe for me to try. Thanks for posting this.
Hi Jane,
This looks yummy. I have no idea you could drop the uncooked meatballs right into the sauce! That makes it easy!
Oh my goodness - what a tasty dish! So glad you shared….I love meatballs. Homemade ones are the very best. Great tip about freezing the bread & buns too!
Ooooo yummy! I will have to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing and linking up to my Catch a Glimpse party! :) Always nice to see a new face.
Hi Jane,
This looks like an awesome Spaghetti Sauce. I just love the smell of a good Spaghetti Sauce as it simmer’s on the stove…yum! Thank you so much for sharing at Full Plate Thursday and please come back!
gonna dream about this tonight! It looks so yummy. I’m gonna make it fo-sho…I think my kids will love it.
xo,
Sena
I always love freshly home made Italian sauce…my family and I make bottle loads, a traditional family get together! A great choice for a family meal. My sister however is the pasta maker. Meatballs look delicious, I always soak the bread in milk before making the meatballs. Delicous!
http://yvettesblogs.com/2011/03/02/spiced-peach-muffins/
THANKS for the recipe, I really need to try this one. This really makes me melt.
OK I was so excited when I found this recipe, and with a few tweaks to make it my own (additional spices to taste) I MUST say I love this. I am now making my third batch. I have just sauce frozen, sauce & meatballs frozen for a later meal, meatballs & sauce for meatball subs at a later meal and this is all from ONE batch of sauce plus we had supper with it as well and we are a family of four.
I make it up brown my hamburger up make a few bags of meatsauce, and a few bags of plain marinara type sauce. This is a hit at our house. Thank YOU!!!
Glad you like it Lisa! I just made some and freezed it too. :)