Monday, December 5, 2011

Best Spaghetti & Meatballs

 Spaghetti is one of those classic comfort foods that I wanted to find a REALLY good recipe for. So over the years I have tried several marinara sauce recipes as well as meatball recipes. With some adaptations of my favorite recipes, I have finally found one that I love and it is also healthy, of course!
Best Spaghetti & Meatballs

Marinara Sauce:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup minced onion
2 garlic cloves, crushed
8 ounce of mushrooms, sliced (optional)
1 green pepper, diced (optional)
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 cans tomato paste
2 cans canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon stevia
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried parsley
Directions:
In a large pot, saute onion, garlic, peppers and mushrooms (optional) in oil over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Add seasonings. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
This makes a lot of sauce. You can also use the left over sauce for a roll over meal, like Eggplant Parmesan!

Meatballs:
1 pound of lean ground beef or Italian turkey sausage or combination of both
1 egg
1/4 cup of milk
1 large slice of wheat bread, crumbled
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon parsley, fresh or dry

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
In a medium size bowl beat egg with fork, add milk and bread. Let it sit for 5 minutes so the bread is moist. Add ground beef or Italian turkey sausage, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and parsley. Mix well and then shape into meatballs. (I like small meatballs better!)
Place meatballs on a sprayed rack (cookie cooling rack) with a cookie sheet underneath.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of your meatballs.
Add meatballs to the prepared marinara sauce.
Serve over spaghetti squash or whole wheat spaghetti noodles.
Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Health Tip:
Tomatoes are a treasure of riches when it comes to their antioxidant benefits. In terms of conventional antioxidants, tomatoes provide an excellent amount of vitamin C and beta-carotene; a very good amount of the mineral manganese; and a good amount of vitamin E. In terms of phytonutrients, tomatoes are basically off the chart!
Read more health tips at:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=44

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