(thing) by tyrannosaurus Thu Nov 17 2005 at 4:34:13

Tyrannosaurus's Mama's Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs

This is my favorite food in the entire world. I pretty much live on pasta--to hell with counting carbs, I say--and this is one of the best sauces I have had. That sounds pretty subjective, considering that this is the recipe my mama uses, but she didn't start making it this way until I was in middle school.

This recipe makes several quarts of sauce (use a big pot) and freezes well. Our family of three makes about four meals with this sauce--and since this is my favorite, one "meal" for me is two large platefuls of pasta and sauce.

Step one: Mmmmeatballs

  1. Heat your oven up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (that's 175 degrees Celsius.)
  2. In a large mixing bowl, mix:
    • 1 pound ground beef
    • 1 pound ground pork
    • 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs (Tyrannosaurus's Mama uses Progresso, but that probably doesn't actually matter.)
    • 1 cup of that crappy powdered parmesan
    • 2 tablespoons of garlic powder (I know, it sounds like a lot, but the spices in the meatballs flavor the sauce.)
    • 2 tablespoons onion powder
    • 2 teaspoons salt
    • black pepper to taste
  3. If the meatballs seem too dry and won't stick together, VERY SLOWLY add milk until they will hold their shape.
  4. Roll meat mixture into 1" balls, then arrange them on a cookie sheet (or a series of cookie sheets.)
  5. Bake the meatballs for about 30 minutes.

Okay. So now you have some delicious meatballs. Now what? That's right, tomato sauce.

Step two: tomato sauce

  1. Get out a big-ass pot. No, that one is not big enough... a bigger pot. This will almost/barely fit a 12-quart pot, so really, use the big one.
  2. Now, the ingredients. Get your can opener out.
    • 3 x 28 ounce cans crushed tomatoes. Mama uses Hunt's or S&W; I doubt that it matters all that much.
    • 1 x 15 ounce can tomato sauce
    • Basil, to taste (I use about 2 tablespoons.)
    • Oregano, to taste (I use about 2 tablespoons.)
    • 1/2 cup powdered parmesan
  3. Pour all of the ingredients into your big-ass pot.
  4. Turn the heat to medium.
  5. Add the meatballs.
  6. Cook sauce at least 30 minutes--a couple of hours is ideal, and it's best if you let it sit, covered, overnight.

Now, cook yourself up some pasta. I like spaghetti, Mama likes penne, and Patchy doesn't really care that much. Heat the sauce up, serve it over the pasta, and grate some nice parmigiano reggiano or asiago over it. This goes well with red wine and a nice green salad with balsamic vinaigrette; I also like it with a big glass of ice-cold milk.

I like it!