Mom's meatballs and Homemade Marinara

There is NOTHING more nostalgic and comforting to me then the smell of my moms meatballs being fried up. If I came home from school and saw my mother at the stove with a pan full of meatballs and a pot full a sauce I would feel loved, no matter how hard my day had been. It was my favorite food my mom made for us; well, that and her carrot cake. Now its one of my daughters favorite meals.....and I imagine she will have a child who will love it as well. I have 10 siblings so spaghetti and meatballs was a good dinner for our crowd.....and yes, my mother is a saint.

Sauce Ingredients:

1 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs butter

1 large onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2- 28 ounce cans of diced tomatoes in juice

16 ounces tomato sauce

2 Tbs sugar

15 or so chopped fresh basil leaves 

1/2 tsp Italian herb seasoning 

salt and pepper to taste

Sauce Directions:

1) melt butter and heat oil in a large pot. Saute onions and garlic until soft.

2) Add the rest of the sauce ingredients...and simmer the mixture while you make the meatballs. Or if you are just making the sauce simmer for at least 30 before serving. 

Meatball Ingredients:

olive oil

2 lbs lean (15 % fat) ground beef

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 tsp salt

2 tsp garlic powder

3/4 cup seasoned Italian breadcrumbs

3/4 cup water

2 eggs

Directions: 

1) In a bowl combine the ground beef, cheese, salt, garlic powder, breadcrumbs, water and eggs. Mix this really well.

2) Generously oil the bottom of a large frying pan. Shape the ground beef mixture into balls (the size you like) and place them in the frying pan. Brown them all over. Do not allow the heat to get too high or they will cook on the outside but not on the inside. 

3) Add the browned meatballs to the sauce and simmer for an hour. If the sauce starts to thicken too much add a 1/2 cup of water.

Serve over cooked spaghetti