Spaghetti & Meatballs

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

• 3 Tbsp chopped yellow onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 slices of bread, lightly toasted & crust removed
• ½ cup milk
• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 Tbsp Tuscan blend
• ¾ tsp salt
• ¾ tsp pepper
• 1 egg

For the sauce:

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 ½ Tbsp Tuscan blend
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp sugar
• ¾ tsp salt
• ¾ tsp pepper

Additional:

• Spaghetti, cooked to package instructions
• Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Begin with the meatballs:
2. In a small frying pan heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add the onion and garlic, stirring often so they do not burn and cook until softened, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from the stove and let cool.
3. Place toast in a large bowl and add milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Squeeze out excess milk and pour out leftover milk. Break bread into small pieces and place back in the bowl.
4. Add beef, 2 Tbsp Tuscan blend, salt, pepper, egg and cooled onion & garlic mixture to the bowl. Using wet hands, mix everything together until well blended. Form into balls a little bigger than a golf ball. You should get about 12-14 balls total.
5. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large pan with a lid over medium heat. Add meatballs and cook for about 10 minutes, flipping once halfway through. You want to cook the meatballs until they are medium rare and not cooked all the way.
6. Remove the meatballs from the pan and place on a plate or bowl. Remove excess oil/fat from the pan leaving about 1 ½ Tbsp in the pan. There will be some brown bits left in the pan from the meatballs, do not discard.
7. For the sauce:
8. Return the same pan to the stove and heat the remaining oil until hot. Add the garlic and onions and stir often so they do not burn and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
9. Add the can of tomato sauce to the pan and scrape up any of the brown bits that are on the bottom of the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes and then add the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine all ingredients and sauce begins to bubble. Add meatballs back into the pan with the sauce, lower temp to low and cover the pan.
10. While the meatballs are warming up and continuing to cook, cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions. When pasta is almost ready, remove 1 of the meatballs from the pan with a little sauce and cut open to ensure that it is cooked in the center and no longer pink. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning if necessary.
11. Drain pasta and add it to the pan with the sauce and meatballs. Stir the pasta to coat it with the sauce. Split between bowls and top pasta with parmesan cheese if desired.