Friday Foodie

This was a week for good eats around here.  I cooked the best spaghetti and meatballs I have ever made!  Everything was from scratch but so worth it.  I tweaked a couple of recipes to get what I wanted.  The meatballs were originally posted here and the marinara sauce was originally posted here.

Marinara Sauce

1/4 cup olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, juice included
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1 cup homemade or low-sodium canned chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
4 - 5 tablespoons tomato paste, for thickening
few parsley leaves

Pour olive oil in large saucepan and sauté onions and garlic about 5 minutes, until lightly golden.
Add diced tomatoes to onion/garlic mixture. Over medium heat begin to simmer sauce. Add the sugar, dried basil leaves, chicken broth, crushed red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper. Continue to simmer 5 to 6 minutes.
Add the tomato sauce, paste, and a few parsley leaves. With the lid on, turn the heat to low and simmer about 15 minutes.  While the sauce was simmering, I prepared the meatballs.

Italian Meatballs

1 pound lean ground beef
2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ cup plain bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 eggs
3 tablespoons fresh curly parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients together in large bowl, form 2-inch round balls. Brown lightly in olive oil in skillet and add to sauce.

Because I wanted all the flavors to really blend, I made the sauce and meatballs in the morning and put everything in the Crock-Pot.  The delicious smells had us counting the hours until dinner time!

I wanted to take this meal completely over the top, so I also made Homemade Pasta:

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Water
1 Egg
3/4 cups Semolina Pasta Flour
1 tsp salt

1.  Combine semolina and salt, add beaten eggs, water and oil. Mix to make a stiff dough.
2.  Knead 10 minutes or until dough is elastic. Wrap dough in towel or place in plastic bag and let rest for 20 minutes.
3.   Pass the dough through the flat rollers of the pasta machine until you reach 5 on the regulating knob.  The dough should be flexible, not stiff.

4.  Place the Fettuccine attachment on the pasta machine.  Roll pasta through, cutting strips.
5. Boil pasta in an 4-quart pot of boiling water with 1/2 tablespoon of salt added.6.  Drain pasta and top with sauce and meatballs.  Enjoy!!

We have eaten this twice so far and plan on having it again tonight, so there are at least six servings in the sauce (possibly 8.)  I made fresh pasta for our second meal and we have enough left over for tonight.  If you want to make this for a family or large group, double or triple the pasta recipe.  I've said it before, but nothing compares to fresh pasta!