2 Hour Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe

Spag and MB on a weeknight!? When I say 2 hours to make this, I assume that you have all ingredients on hand. If not, factor in an extra hour for a trip to the store! I served this last week with the first few days of autumn-like weather. My men couldn't get enough!

Ingredients:

1 small package Italian sausage
1 small package meatloaf mix or ground beef
2 slices wheat bread, toasted
About half a cup of milk
2 eggs
5 to 7 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion
2 large cans tomato sauce
1 large can diced tomatoes
Pinch of thyme, or rosemary if you have it
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3/4 cups grated cheese such as Parmesan, Romano or a blend
Pinch of allspice
Salt and pepper

To make:

Start by browning the sausage in a large saucepan. Cut sausage into chunks as it cooks. When sausage is nearly cooked through, drain most of the fat. Take half of the garlic that you chopped and saute it with some olive oil and the sausages. Do not let the garlic burn. Add the tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper. Add some of the chopped parsley. Bring to a low boil, then reduce heat and let the sauce simmer for approximately 2 hours, with the lid either partially on or completely off. Be sure to stir occasionally while sauce is cooking.

Next make the meatballs. Begin by combining the wheat toast with milk in a large bowl. Let it sit until well saturated, then mush up this mixture with your fingers. Add ground meat, 2 eggs, grated cheese, garlic, allspice, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix all ingredients with your hands, turning frequently in the bowl until everything is well blended.  In terms of consistency, it should feel like meatloaf. And this is hard to explain, but if it isn't firm enough to form into balls, then sprinkle a little bit of bread crumbs in and mix with your hands again.

Take out a large, flat baking pan. Use your hands to roll out bite-sized meatballs. Place each one in the pan. You do not have to leave a lot of space between the meatballs.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for approximately 40 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool on the stovetop. When meatballs are cool, and then to the pot of sauce and continue to cook along with the sausages, until the sauce tastes good enough to put over your spaghetti.

About a half an hour before you plan to serve dinner, boil up a pot of water and cook your spaghetti in it for about 6 minutes, maybe slightly longer to achieve the Al Dente consistency.

Get a large bowl. Scoop out some spaghetti into the bowl, and add sauce, mixing in gently so as not to break the noodles. Serve more sauce, with delicious meatballs and sausage in it, on the side. Each person gets a heaping plate of spaghetti topped with extra sauce and meat. Sprinkle with more parmesan cheese if you like.

Bon appetito!