Everything else is just gravy...

I grew up in a family that called tomato sauce gravy. And it was almost always on the stove all day at Gram and Pop's on Sundays. When we were little there were to 2 certainties on any given Sunday: 10:15am Mass at St. Joseph's and early supper at my grandparent's. Though, I'm sure that my recipe is different from what my grandparents made (I don't cook meat directly in my sauce as my grandparent's did), it still feels like something that I need to make on a Sunday afternoon.

Tomato Sauce

Ingredients
1/4 C EVOO
3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium onion, diced
1- 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
1- 28oz can of diced tomatoes (do not drain off juice)
3oz of tomato paste (I use 1/2 of a 6oz can, I put the rest into a Ziploc and freeze for next time!)
1 TBSP dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried thyme
1 TBSP granulated white sugar
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Over medium-high heat in a 6-quart saucepot, sautee the onion and garlic in the EVOO for 8-10 minutes until soft and they begin to brown. Drop heat down to low. Add the diced tomatoes (with juice from the can), crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, all dried herbs, salt, peppers and sugar, then stir to incorporate. Simmer for at least 30 minutes.

Meatballs

Ingredients
1 lb of ground meat (beef, chicken, turkey)
2 Eggs
1 C breadcrumbs
1 TBSP dried basil
1 TBSP dried parsely
1 TBSP died oregano
1 tsp onion power
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
Drizzle of EVOO, if using ground poultry
 
Preheat oven to 375. In mixing bowl, combine meat, eggs, dried herbs, spices, breadcrumb and EVOO. In a greased baking dish, begin rolling & lining up small meatballs about 1 inch in diameter. Bake for about 10-12 minutes.

Drop meatballs into tomato sauce  and serve over paste/spaghetti squash/on a baguette...the options are endless. Top with grated Parmesan cheese, lots of it.

Love,

Michele