Spaghetti & Meatballs
This is a recipe passed down from my Mom to myself, and then from myself to my daughter and granddaughter. I used to make homemade meatballs with it but now use frozen Italian meatballs. Saves time and taste almost as good.
This is a recipe passed down from my Mom to myself, and then from myself to my daughter and granddaughter. I used to make homemade meatballs with it but now use frozen Italian meatballs. Saves time and taste almost as good.
- 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 cans hunts diced basil, garlic & oregano tomatos 14.5 oz
- 1 can hunts tomato paste 12 oz
- 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup white onion diced
- 1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons oregano dried
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 box spaghetti
- 1 bag frozen italian meatballs
- Carbohydrate 12.4417636806994 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 2.31080041676905 g
- Fiber 0.103725002702254 g
- Protein 16.4728923389062 g
- Saturated Fat 0.179511919600801 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (332g)
- Sodium 25013.0643114754 mg
- Sugar 12.3380386779971 g
- Trans Fat 0.0364428048675336 g
- Calories 136 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large sauce pan, place 2-3 Tablespoons of oil along with onion and garlic on medium to low heat.
- Stir for a few minutes (3-4 minutes) and then add: canned Tomatoes, Tomato Paste and stir.
- Add the 3 cups of Water, stir well.
- Now you can add your spices, Oregano, Salt and Sugar.
- Again, stir well and turn heat up.
- You will want the sauce to get hot but not boiling.
- Now you can add your frozen Meatballs.
- (make sure you have a pan big enough to hold the sauce & meatballs).
- Turn the heat down and simmer.
- Stir occassionally.
- As soon as sauce begins to simmer....get a large pot, big enough to boil your spaghetti (as directed on package or box).
- I normally add a teaspoon of salt to the water, bring to a boil, add spaghetti, stir well and often, and boil for 10 minutes.
- Drain off water.
- Place spaghetti on plate and top with the Meatballs & Sauce.
- Sides: salad and garlic bread.
Unlike a delicate marinara that relies on bright, uncooked summer tomatoes, a robust spaghetti and meatball setup demands a cooked-down sauce with body enough to cling to pasta. Too many home cooks dump straight-from-the-can paste and diced tomatoes into a pot without sweating the aromatics first, which leaves a harsh, metallic acidity on the palate. Cooking the diced onions and minced garlic in vegetable oil for three to four minutes over medium-low heat softens their cellular walls and unlocks natural sweetness before the acidic tomato components enter the pan. Furthermore, adding sugar is not merely about sweetening the profile; it acts as a chemical counterweight to balance the high concentration of citric acid present in commercial tomato products. When introducing frozen meatballs directly to the simmering sauce rather than thawing them beforehand, monitor the liquid level carefully, as frozen proteins will release moisture and can thin out the sauce if the heat is set too high. Maintain a gentle simmer rather than a rolling boil once the meatballs are submerged to prevent the exterior from turning mushy while the center remains cold. Salting the pasta water generously ensures the spaghetti absorbs seasoning from the inside out during its ten-minute boil, compensating for any salt lost in the sauce preparation.
