How is your new year going? Mine started out energetic with some new ideas for a project I’m working on, which I hope to announce sometime in February. The insurrection on the Capitol was um, horrifying. It felt like 9/11 but actually worse. Biden will be sworn in on Wednesday which is a huge relief and I’m very excited about that, so I guess you could say this year has already had its share of ups and downs.

So, Spaghetti and Meatballs! I had a craving for spaghetti and meatballs the other day. And coincidently Jeff told me he had a craving for a meatball sandwich, and it’s not like we just read about meatballs or anything like that, we just had meatball cravings! Ha! The recipe below is a double batch of meatballs, we had our spaghetti dinner and I’m going to freeze the rest of the meatballs for a Meatball Sub Sandwich next week. I adapted the recipe from NYTimes Cooking, which I finally gave in and subscribed. It’s only $5/month but it just irks me that it doesn’t come with the NYTimes subscription we already have. Oh well. I actually really like it with the recipe box and it has a very nice interface. The recipe doubled here makes 18 large meatballs. I changed a couple things, using Panko bread crumbs and Italian seasoning, but feel free to use regular bread crumbs and whatever seasoning you prefer. I also bake them in the oven before putting them in the sauce, which is convenient because you can make your sauce while they bake and everything comes together a bit quicker.

Enjoy!

Spaghetti + Meatballs

Meatballs

1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground beef
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
24 oz jar of tomato sauce
14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (or more to taste)
8 oz chopped baby bella mushrooms
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound spaghetti, tagliatelle or linguine, cooked to taste

Or you could make your tomato sauce from scratch, recipe here

Preheat oven to 400°.

To prepare meatballs, combine pork, beef, egg, parmesan, garlic, spices, bread crumbs, tomato paste, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly with your hands until well combined.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Shape the meat mixture into 2 inch balls, and place on baking sheet. You should have about 18 meatballs. Brush the meatballs with a little olive oil. Place in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until internal temp reads 165°.

To prepare the sauce, in a large sauce pan or dutch oven sauté garlic for a few minutes, then add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato paste and spices, allow to simmer for about 10 minutes over a medium low heat. Add the mushrooms and continue to simmer another 10-15 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.

When the meatballs are done, remove from oven and place some in the sauce, or on a platter. You can freeze leftover meatballs to make meatball sandwiches for another time. Place hot pasta in a large serving bowl. Pour most of sauce (reserving meatballs) on pasta, and toss to combine. Top pasta with meatballs, and serve.