Sketti and Meatballs

I was so proud of myself the first time I made meatballs. Sorta like having your second child makes you feel like a 'real mom,' the first time I made meatballs from scratch I felt like a real cook. The second time I made this I placed the meatball mixture into the fridge before forming the balls.  This turned out to be a mistake. The cold meat was harder to get into balls and fell apart in the sauce. It was still good, just turned into meat sauce instead of meatballs. 

Anyway this is a really tasty make again recipe.

 

 

Ingredients

• MEATBALLS
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 2 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 egg, beaten

• SAUCE
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 (28 ounce) cans diced  tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder and beaten egg. Mix well and form into 12-20 balls. Store, covered, in refrigerator until needed. 
•  
•  In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent.  Stir in tomatoes, salt, sugar and bay leaf. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 90 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, basil, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and meatballs and simmer 30 minutes more. Serve.

Luke's stamp of approval