Spaghetti Sauce and Meatballs

This could serve 4-5 people generously or feed 2 for 3 days. I use 1/3 of meatballs for sauce and freeze the rest for later. And, obviously, you have to make spaghetti to go with this.

Meatballs:

• 1 lbs. ground pork
• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 2-3 eggs, beaten
• 1 small onion, minced in food processor
• 4 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 2/3 cup bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ~1 tsp crushed red pepper
• ~1 tsp salt, pepper
• optional: dried oregano, Italian spice mix, cumin…

1. Mix everything together, but don’t over mix 🙂
2. Form into balls (2 tbsp sized) and brown on stovetop (if intending to finish cooking  in sauce) OR bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes to freeze.

Sauce:

• 1 onion, food processed
• 3-4 cloves garlic, pressed
• 2-3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 can crushed + 1 can diced tomatoes (use the large cans)
• salt, pepper 
• 1 tbsp sugar*
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
• olive oil
• optional: dried oregano, crushed red pepper, garlic powder… 

*if you don’t want to add sugar, you can substitute a grated carrot and saute it at the start with the onion.

1. Saute onion and a dash of salt in olive oil until translucent or browned.
2. Add tomato paste and garlic. Saute for a minute or two.
3. Stir in canned tomatoes. Cover and simmer until you are done browning the meatballs.
4. Add meatballs and spices/sugar/salt. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
5. When ready to serve, stir in fresh basil and adjust the seasoning.
6. Toss with cooked spaghetti. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil over the top (if desired).