Most nights at our house are spent cooking dinner rather than going out; it's the best way to save money and also keep the idea of going to a restaurant a "special occasion". It's often tough to find a homemade meal that is simple to make, packed with flavor, and reasonably healthy, but I've come up with a basic meatball and red sauce recipe that manages to do all three (~ 600 calories for two meatballs with the sauce, plenty for me). Below is the recipe I follow, but of course there are many opportunities within what I've done to make it better and make it your own!
Red sauce ingredients (makes ~ 8 servings with the meatballs)
- 1 can (7 cups) of crushed tomatoes (I recommend San Marzano but any will do)
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic (just enough to taste it in the sauce; no need to use less but more would work)
- 3-5 tablespoons of sugar (to taste; helps to balance the acidity of the tomatoes when not using San Marzano)
- Salt / pepper / dried basil / dried oregano to taste
Directions
- Heat the olive oil in a sauce pot at medium heat
- Saute the garlic (I use a micro planer rather than chopping or using a garlic press) until just before browned
- Add the tomatoes and reduce the heat to low
- Add the seasonings and sugar to taste (continue during cooking as the sauce reduces)
- After 2 hours, the sauce is ready
Meatball ingredients (makes 8 meatballs, I find that 2-3 are appropriate per person)
- 1 pound of 80/20 ground beef
- 1 cup of Italian breadcrumbs
- 1 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese (preferred over grated)
- 2 eggs
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and form meatballs (slightly smaller than racquetballs)
- Cook for 15 minutes then flip and cook for another 15 minutes
- Cover with sauce and enjoy
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