I can’t have a website called Sundaywithachanceofmeatballs.com without adding a recipe for Meatballs!!

When I was growing up it seemed that my Grandmother, my Mother, my Aunt Jean and my Uncle Joe each had their own unique way of making meatballs. All of them were good, but none of them were exactly the same. My Mother’s are less spicy with minimal herbs and spices added, while my Aunt Jean’s were high in garlic, herbs and seasoning.  I love my mothers meatballs, but I admit that I prefer my Aunt Jeans!! I like them spicy and well seasoned!! You can adapt this recipe to your own tastes and experiment with the seasonings and ingredients to make them your own!!  I use all beef for my meatballs, but you can vary this by using beef, pork and veal or any combo of each.

The spaghetti sauce recipe is the same way. Everyone has their own unique way of making it, but all are great!! You’ll notice that my recipes sometimes don’t have very good quantities of ingredients listed.  As a rule of thumb, I cover the meat or the top of the sauce with a given ingredient then mix it in and add the next ingredient. I don’t do too well with measuring!! I never really measure so you’ll have to experiment or go with your own individual tastes. I have indicated some of the quantities, but these are guidelines, not exact measurements!!  For instance, If you like a lot of garlic, add a lot of garlic, if not add a little or don’t add it at all.

Meatball Ingredients:
2 lbs of ground beef
Cover the beef with a coating of each of the following:
Italian Style breadcrumbs (be generous)
Garlic Powder (You can use fresh garlic too-sometimes I use 3-4 cloves crushed and mixed with the ground beef – I still use the Garlic Powder when I do this).
Onion Powder

Then add:
Fresh Basil (chopped) – 2-4 leaves
Fresh Parsley (chopped) – handful
2 beaten eggs
A splash of milk
Fresh ground black pepper (to taste)

Optional:
Sometimes I add about half a cup of Ricotta Cheese to make them more moist

Prepare the meatballs:

• Prepare the Spaghetti sauce first (see method below)
• Mix all ingredients together with your hands. The meat should be moist but not wet. If the meat is too wet, simply add more breadcrumbs, If it seems too dry, add a little more milk.
• Form the meatballs. I use about a palm full of meat.
• Fry the meatballs in vegetable or canola oil to brown them. Don’t cook them through, they will cook in the sauce.
• Add the browned meatballs to the Spaghetti Sauce and cook on low heat for at least an hour or up to 3 hours. The longer they cook the better. (Start the sauce on medium heat and lower after it starts to simmer).
• Stir the sauce often to avoid burning on the bottom! I stir about every 10-15 minutes.

Spaghetti Sauce Ingredients:
3  28oz Cans Crushed Tomatoes
2  28oz Cans of Tomato Puree
1 28oz can of water (use less if cooking 1 hour more if cooking more than 3 hours)
Fresh crushed garlic (2-5 cloves)
Fresh Basil (chopped) – 3-5 leaves
Fresh Parsley (chopped) – large handful
Cover the top of the sauce with a coating of:
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Morton’s season salt (this is my secret ingredient) – if you don’t have it salt and pepper will do!)
Salt and Black pepper to taste
1/2 cup of sugar (I just grab a handful and throw it in. If the sauce tastes bitter after an hour of cooking you can add more sugar)
1 large onion (whole)

Prepare the Sauce:

• In a large sauce pot, add crushed tomato, puree, fresh garlic.
• Cover the top of the sauce with a coating of: garlic powder, onion powder and Morton’s Season Salt
• Add the fresh basil and parsley
• Add the sugar, salt and pepper
• Add the whole peeled onion to the sauce (it will cook in the sauce with the meatballs, you can eat this after its cooked if you wish! It’s delicious! or you can just discard it after the sauce is cooked)
• Cook on low heat with or without meatballs for 1-3 hours. (If you aren’t making meatballs you can add a beef spare rib to the sauce to flavor it!)

Visit http://www.sundaywithachanceofmeatballs.com for more great recipes!

I hope you enjoy!! Ciao, Mike.