Spaghetti & Meatballs Kid Style

Submitted by CountryLady

"This is a simple & basic recipe that is very kid friendly!"

 

• Ready In: 1hr 30mins
• Ingredients: 18
• Yields: 24 meatballs
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• MEATBALLS

• 1 small onion, finely chopped (about 1/3 cup)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• coarse salt
• freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1⁄4 cup fresh breadcrumb

• SAUCE

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• coarse salt
• freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• 2 (28 ounce) cans tomatoes, crushed
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 bay leaves

• SPAGHETTI

• 2 lbs spaghetti
• 1⁄2 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, to taste

directions

1. MEATBALLS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F& line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Heat a small sauté pan over medium-high heat and heat the olive oil until shimmering.
3. Add the onion, garlic, salt and pepper and sauté for 3 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened.
4. Remove from heat and cool completely.
5. Combine the cooled onion mix, ground beef, egg, Worcestershire sauce, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
6. Mix gently until just combined.
7. Using wet hands, form mixture into 24 balls.
8. Transfer meatballs to the baking sheet.
9. Bake meatballs in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until meatballs are browned and cooked through.
10. Shift the pans in the oven halfway through cooking time to ensure even browning.
11. SAUCE: Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven (or medium stockpot) over medium heat.
12. Add the onion, garlic, salt and pepper.
13. Sauté vegetables until soft, about 5 minutes.
14. Add the crushed tomatoes and juice, sugar, salt, pepper and bay leaves.
15. Bring to a boil.
16. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until sauce thickens, about 1 hour.
17. Gently stir meatballs into sauce.
18. Bring sauce and meatballs to a simmer.
19. SPAGHETTI: Cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water, according to package directions, until just tender but firm to the bite.
20. Drain and move onto serving platter.
21. Spoon the sauce and meatballs over the pasta.
22. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Reviews

[shampagne]

I have cooked this three times, and it's been a winner each time. Thankfully I got the camera to the meal before my mouth. I put some dried basil & oregano in the sauce, but that's the only change. Yummo.

 

[Marie]

Added some Parmesan cheese to the meatballs and some fresh basil to the spaghetti sauce instead of the bay leaves. After sauteeing the onions and garlic, I added the tomatoes and then put them in the blender briefly to make a smoother sauce. Delicious dinner, CL. Thanks again for another good recipe.

 

[Girl from India]

I just knew that this would go down well with both my guys. And I was right. We had a ball with these meatballs. I have made spaghetti with meatballs before but fried the meatballs. So the baked meatballs really did the trick. I added spinach to the sauce at the end before puttting the meatballs in and used whole tomatoes (gave them one round in my blender). The result was extraordinary. :) Fay