Spaghetti and Meatballs

Sometimes I wonder if I will ever be able to fully appreciate “fancy” food as much as I appreciate “kid” food. Mac and Cheese, Sloppy Joes, Spaghetti and Meatballs…I love them all SO much.

Meatballs. They are not the most attractive food, but they certainly make up for it with flavor. YUM!

I also tweaked the homemade marinara recipe, so I’m throwing that in this post, too. It’s a good thing to make and save for a rainy day. Or any day.

Here’s what you need…

For the meatballs (adapted from How Sweet It Is):

2 lbs of lean ground beef*

1 egg

2 tbsp of olive oil

2/3 cup of romano cheese
7-8 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp of dry basil
2 tsp dry parsley
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of pepper
1/3 cup of breadcrumbs
3 cups of marinara (recipe below), or your favorite sauce

*I used lean to save calories, however, if you like juicy meatballs (weird thing to say) use beef with more fat. You could also use ground turkey or chicken.

For the sauce (adapted from Food Network):

1 yellow onion, chopped
6-7 garlic cloves, diced
1/2 cup of red wine
1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes (I love San Marzano)
1 and 1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of pepper
1 sprig of rosemary
6 basil leaves, chopped

Here's what you do for the meatballs...

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except marinara. Toss a few times with your hands to combine.

3. Begin rolling the meat into bowls and place in a baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray. You should end up with 12-15 meatballs depending on how big your make them.

4. Pour about half the marinara sauce (if you're using my recipe) or 1 and 1/2 cups into the dish with your meatballs.
5. Bake for 35 minutes and serve with whole wheat pasta with additional sauce on top.

For the sauce...

1. Saute onion in olive oil for about 5 minutes. Then add garlic and sauté for an additional minute.
2. Add the red wine and cook on high heat until most of the liquid evaporates, about 5 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, rosemary, and basil and sauté on low heat for about 15-20 minutes.

4. Enjoy with pasta and meatballs or whatever else you want to use it for.

I hope you all have a fantastic Monday!!