I have felt like life has been in the spin cycle for the past week. Anyone? Although if it were the actual spin cycle, this would not be my current view:
We have had track meets, soccer tryouts, soccer practices, soccer games, band contest, company, observatory grand opening, flat tire, home repairs, birthday celebration, car repairs, dog grooming, weekend in Dallas, injuries and one small fire. In one day I drove 90 miles to Austin and 90 miles back, then 50 miles to Huntsville in the opposite direction for a track meet and 50 miles back. Got home at 11:00 at night, and had to have a kid at school for soccer practice at 6:30 the next morning. Then drove back 50 miles to Huntsville that same day, then 160 miles to Dallas the next day. Exhausting!
In the middle of the chaos, the mini-Amateur’s parakeet died suddenly. She’d had sweet Dakota for about 8 years and it was traumatic to walk in and find him laying on the bottom of the cage. Google thinks he may have had cancer, but regardless of the cause there were lots of big feelings.
So yesterday, instead of folding that laundry I thought it would be great to make Spaghetti and Meatballs.
It was.
I stand by that decision!
Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chuck
- 1 lb sweet or mild Italian sausage
- 1 slice sandwich bread
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup half and half or milk
- 1 t salt
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 x 28 oz San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 x 6oz can tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 t salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 x 15oz can petite diced tomatoes
- ½ cup fresh basil (chiffonade, chop or tear the leaves)
- 1 pkg spaghetti noodles (cooked al dente according to box directions)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉
- For the meatballs:Place the sandwich bread in a large bowl. Crack the egg over it and add the half and half. Let it sit for a few minutes, then stir with a fork until it makes a paste.
- Add in the ground beef, Italian sausage, 1 t salt and stir until well combined. You may need to use your hands for this.
- Heat a large, oven proof skillet over med high heat.
- Using a small ice cream scoop, shape the meat into balls and drop into the pan. Brown the meatballs on both sides, then move to the oven for 30 minutes.
- For the sauce:Chop the onion and garlic. Place a large pot or Dutch oven over med high heat and coat the bottom with olive oil. When the oil is heated, sauté the onions and garlic until translucent.
- Add whole peeled tomatoes, tomato paste, dried basil, sugar, salt and pepper to the pot. Mix well and add the bay leaf. Cover and simmer on medium low heat for 25-30 minutes, until the tomatoes are softened.
- Once the tomatoes are softened, remove the bay leaf and blend the sauce with a submersible blender until as smooth as you like. Add the can of diced tomatoes and check seasonings.
- Add in the meatballs and stir gently. Hold on a simmer until ready to serve. Add in fresh basil right before serving.
- Serve over a bed of hot spaghetti noodles, 2-3 meatballs per person.
Notes
Last night we had soccer practice and there was a caregiver coming to stay with Isaac. One of those nights when I really want to have a dinner prepared, but everyone will be ready to eat it at a different time. Spaghetti and Meatballs for the practice night win!
This scratch made sauce is completely worth the extra effort, which is mostly not even hands-on time. You could easily hold this sauce on warm in a crockpot for everyone to eat as they pass through the kitchen on their way to whatever activities await.
** I wrote out the recipe in a different order than I made it. I can’t even follow my own recipe!! Do it in whatever order makes sense to you**
You’ll notice my “ingredients” picture is missing the tomato paste. I sure thought there was some in the pantry, but ended up borrowing from a friend to avoid a second grocery store trip for the day! These are simple ingredients that you probably have on hand. Or maybe your neighbor does!
Start by chopping up your onion and garlic. If you don’t have fresh garlic you can use the minced that is available in a jar. I keep a giant bag of peeled garlic cloves from Sam’s or Costco in the freezer. This works great and I always have fresh garlic cloves when I need them. They thaw out quick and are ready to chop by the time I get my knife and cutting board out. I love this knife! It’s a Nakiri from Made In. It came with a custom band-aid. I have some skillets from this brand and they are equally awesome!
Coat the bottom of a Dutch oven or other large pot with some olive oil, and when the oil is hot, add the onions and garlic. Give those an occasional stir until they become translucent.
This is me, measuring salt. If you make a cup with your hand it will measure about a teaspoon. This is the only type of measuring I do when cooking. Baking is something else! Also – for future use, a palmful of salt is the right amount for a pound of unseasoned meat.
Add in the whole tomatoes, the tomato paste, sugar and the seasoning. I usually rinse out the tomato cans with just a bit of water — don’t want to lose any of that deliciousness!! Give this a good stir, then drop a bay leaf on top and cover the pot. Let it simmer on med-low for about 30 minutes while you get the meatballs going.
For these meatballs I like to mix sweet or mild Italian sausage with ground beef. It gives a great flavor! You could also do all beef, mix in some ground turkey if you want — whatever you like. The best way to get this mixed well is with your hands. Which can be cold and sticky, but gets the job done!
I use a scoop to make the meatballs. This helps to keep them a consistent size. If you want them to look nicer than mine, after you scoop, roll the ball in your hands until it’s smooth and nicely rounded. You will end up with about 24 meatballs, depending on the size you make.
Brown the meatballs, then pop the whole skillet into the oven until they are cooked through. I know you’re not supposed to crowd the pan, but I seriously doubt that Julia Child had to hurry to pick up a Doodle from the groomer on time!
When your sauce has simmered adequately, taste and adjust seasonings to your liking. Remove the bay leaf and get your immersion blender ready. I love this thing and use it way more than I would have expected. Mine is a Cuisinart like this one. The whisk attachment is perfect for making salad dressings or homemade mayonnaise. I’ve had mine for years and it’s still going strong!
When your meatballs are cooked and your sauce is delicious, very gently stir in the meatballs. Put the lid back on and hold over a simmer until you’re ready to eat. Cook the noodles just prior to serving.
I like this Barilla Protein pasta. It makes me feel a little better about eating a giant plate of noodles. There’s still a pretty high carb count, but it could totally be worse! This is my mantra — it could be worse!
I hope you give this recipe a try – I think you’ll be glad you did. The sauce is also great for pizza and for stuffed zucchini — recipe coming soon!
It is a lovely day here in South Texas — not terrifically hot yet, sunny and a nice gentle breeze. The kids are at school doing their things, The Professor is working on his textbook, the Doodle is lazing about. I think it is a good day! I’m off to the gym, then will begin the picking up of the children and the doing of the things! Would you look at that! I still haven’t folded the laundry!
Enjoyed your review of our weekend! And the sauce looks amazing!
It was a fun whirlwind!