My Grandma's Famous Carbonara Sauce

My Grandma called this "spaghetti hot dish" and traditionally served it on New Years Day when I was a kid. I call it "out of this world". There are no eggs in this dish but I think the bacon drippings more than make up for it! Not for the every day diet, VERY RICH, but oh so good!

• Ready In: 3 hrs 30 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• SAUCE

• 1 (16 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 2  tablespoons sweet basil
• 1  tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1  teaspoon pepper
• 1  lb bacon

• MEATBALLS

• 2  slices  bread
• 1⁄4-1⁄2 cup milk
• 1  lb ground beef
• 1  tablespoon sweet basil
• 1  egg
• 1⁄2 cup  chopped onion
• 1  teaspoon garlic
• 1⁄2 cup parmesan cheese

Directions

1. SAUCE:.
2. Fry bacon til cooked, not quite crisp. Add bacon and drippings (yes, drippings!) to above ingredients and simmer for a couple hours.
3. MEATBALLS:.
4. add milk to bread to make a mush, add all other ingredients ane form into meatballs.
5. Brown in a fry pan, and put into sauce to continue cooking. Add to sauce, and meatballs will cook thru when you are simmering for a couple hours. I have also cooked in a crock pot for 4-6 hours on high with great results.
6. Serve over pasta of your choice.
7. My Grandama mixed 1 lb of cooked elbow noodles with this sauce and made it "spaghetti hot dish".