Recipe: Fresh Spaghetti and Meatballs

As promised, here is my first actual entry that consisted of me making food in preparation for this crap I'm doing right now. I wanted to do something a little more exciting that spaghetti and meatballs, but others in the family don't have as exciting taste buds as mine.. Nonetheless, until I return to TO, I'll have to deal with it. Much like the turkey dinner I pounded over the weekend, meatballs make for a great day after meal in the form of a meatball sandwich. The thing I like best about this meal is all the fresh ingredients and how the meatballs are cooked in with the sauce... they became so moist and tender. If they were ribs, they'd be falling off the rack.. Of course there can be lots of changes made.. If you like a really sweet sauce, add more sugar. If you like an extra kick, through in some chili garlic sauce or frank's.. Other than that, please enjoy! The picks were taken using my iPhone (Original 3G so camera sucks..)

I got a little over excited and dived into the meal before taking the first picture.... my bad

Ingredients

Pasta Sauce

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 (16 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 
  
• Meatballs

• 1 pound ground round
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/6 cup chopped fresh oregano

• 1 (16 ounce) package uncooked spaghetti

Directions:

Step numero uno.. Sauce.. Start off by chopping up the onions and mincing the garlic as shown below... Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat, and cook the onion until it's lightly brown. Mix in the 3 garlic cloves and cook for another minute. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water, sugar and 1/4 cup oregano.. Bring the sauce to a boil, seasoning with salt and pepper, then reduce heat to low and simmer. 

Step numero deu.. Meatballs.. Mix together the ground beef, bread crumbs, 1/6 cup oregano, 2 cloves garlic, parsley, eggs and parmesan cheese.. Season again with salt and pepper as required. Roll the mixture into small balls and put into the sauce.. Cook the meatballs in the sauce for around 40 minutes or until they are done.. Since I don't have a thermometer for meat, I found the best way to check is to take a meatball out of the sauce and cut in half.  

Step numero tre.. cook the pasta. This is (I hope) the easiest step for everyone. Bring a pot of water to a boil and throw in the package of spaghetti.. If theres only a couple of people eating.. obviously a package might be a little much, so dictate how much you need appropriately. Cook about 9 minutes or until al dente, and drain. Serve under meatballs and sauce.