recipes: marinara sauce & italian meatballs I

while the hubs was out of down recently i decided to be a good wifey and made a huge batch of meatballs, sauce, and soup. some good home cooking for our new fridge. although i've made both a few times, i was surprised i didn't have any stock recipes for marinara or meatballs on my blog. and didn't have a go-to recipe saved either. so i quested out for the best of the net for new recipes to try. i went with Best Marinara Sauce Yet and Chef John's Italian Meatballs, both from allrecipes.com which is pretty trusty for good/solid classic recipes based on the reviews. i adapted both recipes slightly, but both came out really good - especially with some delish bakery bread and crispy cab sav on the side. mmmmm!

ingredients list: marinara sauce: (makes enough for 3-4 dinners for 2 people)
- 2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
- 2 (6 oz) can tomato paste
- 4-5 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil
- 1/3 cup finely diced onion
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup red wine (i used a cab)



to make: marinara sauce: 
in an extra large sauce pan over medium heat, saute the onion in olive oil for 3-5 minutes, until it starts to brown. add garlic during last minute of cooking, stirring quickly to make sure it doesn't burn. pour in the red wine and allow to simmer/reduce for about 2 minutes. 

stir in the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper, sugar, and bay leaf.

simmer for about 1 hour, removing the bay leaf when done. add additional salt/pepper/sugar as needed for taste. 

ingredients list: Italian meatballs: (this recipe is for a double batch, which made about 72 1&1/2 inch meatballs and 36 1/2 inch mini-meatballs)
- 2/3 cup plain bread crumbs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup olive oil)
- 2 small onions, diced
- 2 lbs ground beef (i used 80/20 blend)
- 2 lbs ground pork
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp & 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tsp dried Italian herb seasoning
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

to make: Italian meatballs: 
cover 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. soak bread crumbs in milk in a small bowl for 20 minutes.

heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. cover and stir onions in the oil until translucent, about 20 minutes. add garlic for the last minute of cooking. 

mix beef and pork together in a large bowl. stir in onion/garlic mixture, bread crumb mixture, eggs, parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian herb seasoning, and parmesan cheese into the meat mixture until combined. cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour. 

preheat oven to 425 degrees F. form mixture into balls about 1&1/2 inches in diameter, and arrange onto prepared baking sheet. bake in preheated oven until browned and cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.

serve with pasta/sauce, or freeze for future meatbally needs.