Pasta Sauce With Turkey Meatballs

Easy home made tomato pasta sauce with turkey meatballs. Let it simmer all day, for an easy dinner which freezes great. This is my base recipe for all pasta dishes, the meatballs can be removed for sandwiches.

• Ready In: 3 hrs
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• Sauce

• 2  tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1⁄2 large  diced onion
• 1  teaspoon kosher salt
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 8  ounces  sliced mushrooms
• 1⁄2 green pepper, diced
• 2  celery ribs, chopped
• 1⁄4 cup fresh basil or 1 1⁄2 tablespoons dried basil
• 3⁄4 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1  teaspoon thyme
• 1⁄2 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1⁄8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 6 -8  cups tomato sauce or 2 (28 ounce) cans  good quality tomatoes, crushed
• 1  bay leaf
• 2  tablespoons  balsamic vinegar
• 1⁄4 cup red wine

• Meat Balls

• 1  lb lean ground turkey
• 1⁄2 cup  breadcrumbs
• 1  teaspoon dried basil
• 1  teaspoon oregano
• 1  teaspoon garlic powder
• 1  teaspoon onion powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Heat large pot or dutch oven on medium heat. Once pot is heated, add oil. Lower heat and add chopped onion, stir then sprinkle with healthy pinch of kosher salt. Heat for 2minutes then add minced garlic and stir. Cook for one minute being careful not to burn and add sliced mushrooms, celery and diced green pepper, stir. Add spices and stir. Once vegetables are tender add tomato sauce and stir. Add bay leaf. Simmer. Add 2 tbsps balsamic vinegar and a generous splash of red wine. Continue to simmer, stirring to ensure that sauce is not sticking to bottom of pan. Reduce heat if necessary.
2. To make the meatballs.
3. In a medium bowl add Italian bread crumbs, dried basil, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, season salt and black pepper. Stir and add minced lean turkey. Mix well but try not to handle too much to keep them tender. Form into balls and drop into sauce. Ensure meat balls are covered in sauce. Simmer and stir carefully until done, a good 2 hours. Ensure that sauce does not burn to bottom of pot. Add chicken broth or water if sauce becomes too thick. Once meat balls are cooked, taste sauce and add more salt, seasoning and/or cayenne pepper to taste.
4. I have found, depending on thickness of pot the sauce will sometimes be very thick. When I make at home I often have to add cups of liquid to the sauce, but it is dependent upon personal preference.