Special Sunday Dinner: Spaghetti and Meatballs Perfected

printable recipe

My goal as a cook has been to perfect my spaghetti sauce. I feel like if you can make an amazing sauce, you've really made it as a cook. I tried several recipes. I've had some pretty decent ones. I've had some horrible ones. Then came the day I found a recipe that included red wine and crushed red pepper. I thought, "Yes. This one will be the winner." I've made it a few times now, tweaked it a bit and I'm proud to say: It is PERFECT. I feel as though I deserve some Italian badge of honor, and I am by no means Italian.

I asked my husband if he thought this Special Sunday Dinner is blog worthy. He responded, "Oh hell yeah!" Then, went back for a big scoop of more meatballs saying they were the best he's ever had.

Proud moment.



Here's how it's done:

In olive oil, saute half a cup chopped bell pepper, chopped onion and 3 to 4 cloves garlic minced. I'm always heavy handed with the garlic.

Add a quarter cup of dry red wine. Let it reduce down a bit. This will improve the overall flavor of the sauce. I've skipped this step and I'm telling you, it makes a difference. Also, choose a wine that you actually want to drink.

Add a 28 oz. can of whole plum tomatoes, 8 oz. can of tomato sauce, and 6 oz. can of tomato paste.

Add a tablespoon of sugar, half a tablespoon of Italian Seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper and two bay leaves. Bring it to a boil and reduce the heat to low. Let it simmer for 4 hours. Yep, I said 4 hours. It's completely worth it. You can throw this all into a slow cooker and end up with a delicious sauce, but I've done it both ways and it is so much better from the stove. Stir it occassionally, but otherwise, forget about it for about 3 hours and go spend time with your family.

When you've got an hour left on the sauce, it's time to start the meatballs.  Combine one pound ground beef, one pound sausage (I use Jimmy Dean's Sage sausage. I love the extra flavor from it. Use what you like the best.) Add a half cup onion and a half cup chopped green bell pepper. There's no need to be exact. I cut a whole onion and pepper and used what was left after making the sauce. Add bread crumbs and eggs and get your hands dirty. Yes, use your hands. Any good Southern cook will tell you, you mix meatballs, meatloaves, whatever, with your HANDS. It's how it's done, people. Make them nice and big and throw them in a 350 oven for 30 to 40 minutes depending on the size. This made enough meatballs for me to freeze half to use later.

This meatball recipe is so simple, but it'll knock your socks off. It's the sausage/meat combination. It really makes it spectacular, so you don't need to do much more.

Boil your noodles. The whole tomatoes should break down, but you can always take a potato masher to them if they haven't. Remove the bay leaves. When your meatballs are done, throw them in the sauce and serve it up. Then, try not to let the compliments you'll receive go to your head.  I served this with a simple side salad and wine for the adults.

There are no words adequate enough to describe how delicious this sauce is. It's tangy, robust and...well...perfect. It's simple, but complex in flavor. Your house will smell like heaven.

Click here for the recipe.

 For dessert, I served some Chocolate Toffee Cookies. I love Heath Bars, and I adapted this so I could use them. I often plan to make cookies that are easy since my daughter loves to help. It's our special time together. I used this recipe to teach her that if something starts with mixing butter and sugar together, you know it's good. :)



Here's a Printable Version of my Spaghetti and Meatballs.

And, because you've got to give credit where credit is due, my Spaghetti Sauce is adapted from this recipe.

The cookies are adapted from Taste of Home. I made them exactly as shown in the link, except substituting Heath Bar chunks for the white chocolate chips. I highly recommend you give that recipe a try.

If you make this, I'd love to hear how it turned out for you! Look out for next week's Special Sunday Dinner, too!

Hugs, Hugs and Extra Hugs,
      Cindy