Today was a monumental day for me! :shock:
Almost 27 years into my life, and today I finally learned how to make Mom’s Homemade Sauce & Meatballs!
I quickly found out…it’s a messy job!
And I had thought the sauce was messy…oh no. It’s the meatballs that had me gettin “down ‘n dirty.” ;)
Homemade breadcrumbs!
Put everything together…
Then it’s time to have some fun! ;)
MEATBALLS! Mom doesn’t use exact measurements for anything so a lot of it was just “a sprinkle of this” or “a dash of that.” So although I don’t know measurements, my meatballs were made up of:
- 85% ground beef
- 1 egg
- homemade breadcrumbs + store bought breadcrumbs
- GARLIC
- oregano
- salt & pepper
After getting these guys into the oven (*Mom usually likes to pan fry her meatballs but there wasn’t enough room on the stove today) it was time to season the sauce. Mom keeps it fairly simple:
- onion
- salt & pepper
- garlic
- oregano
- basil* (I added this to my batch, but Mom doesn’t use it in hers)
- crushed tomatoes
- tomato paste
Now you can see why there was no room for the meatballs. ;)
In addition to adding the meatballs, my batch of sauce also has:
- 4 links of Al Fresco Sweet Italian-Style chicken sausage, each cut into 1/3’s
- 1 stick of pepperoni, sliced…
I’ve found out throughout the years that a lot of people find it very strange to have pepperoni in sauce. I guess since I always grew up with it, I never thought twice about it. I, actually, really do NOT like eating the pepperoni, but I added it for 2 reasons: a) The hubby likes it, and b) It helps add a lot of flavor.
Mmmmmmm! Thanks so much, Mom, for finally teaching me the ropes! Hopefully I can remember it all now. :shock:
Well, after staring at that big pot of sauce all afternoon long, I knew I had no choice but to incorporate some into tonight’s dinner. So what did I make??
Meatball Subs!
I picked up some rolls from the store on my way home, then filled ‘em up with some meatballs + sauce, and topped ‘em with some Italian-style blend of shredded cheese. After poppin’ them under the broiler for about 3-4 minutes, they were ready to go!
So you guys remember how I had the urge to bake yesterday but unfortunately was left in a kitchen that currently looks like this?
Well TODAY I had Mom’s entire kitchen right at my fingertips; it was time to get my BAKE ON! :-D
Before I continue, I must take a moment to say THANK YOU to Diana. She has created an absolutely phenomenal recipe for Chocolate Chip Dough Balls, and ever since I read the recipe on Friday, I haven’t been able to get them off of my mind. :shock: If you’d like to see her original recipe, click here to check it out!
Does that not look out-of-this-word or WHAT?!?!
I noticed that Mom had some extra icing lying around in her house…so I made sure to put it to good use. Hey, why not?!?
I’ve already had 3 so far today…but the night is still young. :shock:
Could you turn this down??
I’m now spending the rest of the evening OUT of the kitchen, (since all it’s currently doing is making me very annoyed…Oooof) and going to finish watching the rest of Forgetting Sarah Marshall on TV. This movie NEVER gets old! :)
Question for the Evening:
Do you have any special family recipes that you’ve learned to cook/bake over the years?
Alicia says
everything looks so good!! yum!
Di @ http://thetreadmilldiaries.com/ says
Props on a very successful day in the Kitchen. It all looks scrumptious.
The first recipes I had to get the secret training for – my Mom’s sauce and meatballs and the family recipe for chicken cutlets. These things rock.
Liz @ Blog is the New Black says
I just made those balls and OMG- they are THE best.
I don’t have many family recipes- I’m the cook in the fam!
christina says
those cookie balls are killing me right now!!! homemade meatballs are crazy messy but SO worth it!! good job!
runningaroundnormal says
Thanks for linking to the dough ball recipe! I must try it:)
Diana says
You’re welcome! :) I’m so glad you liked the dough ball recipe! Btw, I just posted the butterscotch oatmeal version that i mentioned on twitter. They are so-so good!
I think that’s really cool you made your mom’s meatballs. I love a good family recipe. My mom makes several Filipino recipes, and I help her make them when I’m home, but I really need to document them for later. :)
movesnmunchies says
ahhh soo yummy! look at those doughy insides… yum!
Savvy says
My mom taught me how to make her special pumpkin bread and I’ve been on cloud nine ever since <3 it's so moist and rich and wonderful.
Gabriela @ Une Vie Saine says
Ohhh I can’t show this to my boyfriend or he’ll get mad that I don’t make him meatballs…they’re one of his favorites!!
My mom taught me how to make Kiflik and Madeleine cookies around the holidays. Madeleines are pretty popular, but Kifliks are native to her Hungarian heritage!!
anonymous says
Mmmmmmm! Those doughballs look SO good! Thanks for the recipe :)
Kathryn says
My mom does sloppy joes different than anyone I’ve ever met before (hamburger, cream of celery, ketchup, and mustard), they’ve always been my favorite and that was one of the first recipes I learned from her. We’ve got a family recipe for pancakes that’s been passed down for 4 generations now, unfortunately they work best at high altitudes, and Phoenix, AZ just isn’t a high altitude :(.
Nienke at Revel says
I was actually thinking about you and your kitchen even before you commented on my blog!
Good luck girl – I’m sure the inconvenience will be SO worth it!
CaSaundra says
I just learned how to make my mom “famous stuffing” last Thanksgiving..family recipes are so special!