Italian dishes are on the top of our ‘Favorite Things to Eat’ list and we want to celebrate our love for Italian food with this tasty, mouthwatering marinara meatball goodness! Let us help you take your pasta dish to a whole new level with this delicious recipe!
What you’ll need for the sauce: What you’ll need for the meatballs:
2 tablespoons olive oil 1 small diced onion
1 cup chopped onion 1 medium garlic clove, minced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced 2 pieces bread (white or wheat), torn into pieces
3 large garlic cloves, minced 1 pound lean ground beef or turkey
2 cans (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained 3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 whole bay leaves ¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon each salt and ground black pepper Cooked pasta of choice
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional
Step 1 – Make the sauce:
In a medium stockpot, heat oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, carrots and garlic to the pan. Cook for about 4 minutes stirring the mix occasionally until the ingredients are tender. Next, add the tomatoes and seasonings. Bring the mixture to a boil then remove the pan from the heat and place it on the Cooks Innovations SimmerMat on another burner. Once on the SimmerMat, reduce the heat to low, cover and allow it to simmer for 2-3 hours to thicken. The SimmerMat is going to allow you to cook at the lowest setting possible for long, slow simmering without sticking, scorching, or burning! While your sauce is simmering, let’s make some meatballs!
Step 2 – Make the meatballs:
Preheat your oven to 350˚F. In a large bowl, mix the onion, garlic, bread and ground meat together. Then, add the milk and seasonings in until everything is completely mixed together. Take a nice scoop of the meat mixture and form them into 1-inch balls and place them into your pan or baking sheet. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until they are browned and cooked through. Drain out any oil and when the sauce is nearly done add the meatballs to the stockpot.
Step 3 – Create your dish!
Prepare your pasta according to the package directions, drain, and arrange on serving plates. Finally, add the marinara sauce and meatballs on top of your pasta and top it all off with some parmesan cheese (optional). Now sit back and enjoy this delicious Italian pasta dish!
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