Spaghetti is a house favorite and I have made many versions from a fairly authentic Italian gravy simmered for hours to a quickie fresh tomato sauce done in 15 minutes

. This one is my new favorite; a classic meatball and red sauce, made on the stovetop. It is thick enough, with a great flavor even with less than an hour of cooking. Super easy too. We like it over Barilla pasta but use what you like. These are my version of my good friend, Bernie’s Italian grandmother’s meatballs. Made with gf bread crumbs. Slowly simmered, stirred often…made with love for family. Italian comfort food. Perfect Sunday supper dish.

I know this picture is a hot mess; worse than my usual so so pictures – my beauty shot was somehow majorly flawed. But you get the idea; classic red sauce coating delish pasta with real homemade meatballs. Manga!

Meatballs
1 lb. ground chuck
1 egg, beaten
2/3-3/4 cup GF breadcrumbs
½ tsp. each basil and oregano
½ tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried parsley or 1 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
About ¼ cup milk
Mix all but milk in a large mixing bowl, add milk (it helps keep it tender and moist especially if your breadcrumbs are quite dry). Add more bread crumbs if needed. Form into oval balls about 13/4 inches long by 1 ½ wide (approximately). Fry in olive oil turning to other flat side in 5-7 minutes; do not burn! I stand there and watch them closely. I like to use a large pan that will accommodate the sauce; my big copper saucepan is perfect. I did fry 5 of the meatballs after the first bunch was done as there just wasn’t room enough and it is bad to crowd stuff while frying.

Note: you can leave out the milk if you wish. I also use different fillers like some ground flax seeds instead of all breadcrumbs

Sauce
1 medium onion chopped
1 Tbsp. EVOL
3 garlic cloves minced
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 14 -15 ounce can petite cut up tomatoes
1-2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 Tbsp. dry white wine (can use red too!)
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. sugar
½ tsp. sea salt

Directions. Add chopped onion to fried meatballs. Fry on medium 4-5 minutes until softened. Add garlic and saute a minute. Add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, salt, oregano and basil. gently stir. Pour the wine into the big can to wash out the last of the crushed tomatoes and pour in. Stir a bit. Turn down heat to simmer and cook 40-50 minutes until thick and it tastes done. No semi-raw sauce here! I stir it every 5-10 minutes. Keep it gently bubbling. This is a sauce made with love, no Instant Pot or slow cooker here!
Cook spaghetti, put a big ladle of sauce over it and some meatballs; stir to coat well and serve. We love some fresh grated parmesan cheese on top and a salad to complete the meal. Taste great the next day. Can make meatball sandwiches out of leftover meatballs if you get tired of spaghetti. Enjoy!