Meatballs! Oh and almost homemade spaghetti sauce, too!

Sometimes when I'm cooking, whatever I'm cooking my husband will ask if I'm that ethnicity. I'll take this as a compliment! He regularly asks me if I'm sure I'm not Italian after eating my meatballs. My Mom also complimented me on them and if she likes them they must be good because she is a fabulous cook!

This recipe is similar to my Grandmother's recipe, but I added in the Parmesan cheese.

1 lb ground meat

1 whole sweet yellow onion (diced)

2 cloves of garlic (through a garlic press)

1 1/2 cups regular or italian seasoned bread crumbs

2 eggs

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (shredded)

1 teaspoon of the following:

italian seasoning (unless your bread crumbs are already seasoned and then add some more to taste)

garlic powder

onion powder

generous amount of salt and pepper.

Mix all ingredients together and roll into balls. Bake at 400 degrees on a lightly oiled cookie sheet for about 15 minutes, turning once half way through.

Quick almost homemade spaghetti sauce

1 jar of your favorite store bought sauce

1/2 sweet yellow onion

1/2 green pepper

(both of these diced)

1 clove of garlic ( put through a garlic press)

1 can of Italian diced tomatoes

1 small can of mushrooms

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

1 bay leaf

Add a generous amount of olive oil to a sauce pan, saute the onion, green pepper and garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes, add the jar of sauce, add the italian tomatoes, mushrooms, brown sugar and bay leaf. Simmer on low for about 20 minutes (while you are simmering the sauce, bake the meatballs) and there you go sauce that people will rave about (you don't have to tell them you cheated unless they ask!) and in half the time of completely homemade spaghetti sauce! Before you serve the sauce remove the bay leaf and discard.

I use Classico Tomato Basil or Tuscan sauce to start because I have found that of all the spaghetti sauces out there they use the least amount of sugar and no high fructose corn syrup.

I forgot to take pictures during this last one, sorry! But the recipes are still just as good!