Homemade Meatballs and Fresh Tomato Basil Sauce

Making homemade meatballs and pasta sauce is one of those tasks that people find impossible - it takes too much time, too much hassle, or too much skill. All completely false. I make homemade meatballs and a fresh tomato basil sauce on a weekly basis - and it takes about 10 minutes. I'm not kidding. I usually have most of these ingredients at home (garlic, parmesan, eggs, leftover bread, milk), so this is a very inexpensive dinner... $10 or less.
12 Homemade Moist Meatballs

My recipe for homemade meatballs is unique because I use fresh breadcrumbs and milk (instead of dry breadcrumbs) to keep the meatballs moist.
2 pounds of Ground Beef
6 slices of Bread
1/4 cup of Milk
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan Cheese
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon of Sea Salt
1 teaspoon of Fresh Black Pepper
Fresh Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, coarsely chopped

Start by removing the crusts of the bread and tearing the remaining parts of the bread into small pieces, then place into a medium mixing bowl.
Pour milk onto breadcrumbs. Add cheese, parsley, salt & pepper, parsley and eggs. Mix together.
Add the ground beef to the mixture and combine with your hands - be careful not to compact the mixture - try to keep it light. Form into balls with an ice cream scoop and place on a baking sheet. I line my baking sheets with parchment paper to reduce clean up. Bake the meatballs at 450 degrees for 5-7 minutes until just browned on outside. I like the middle of the meatball to remain moist.

Fresh Tomato Basil Sauce
2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
4 cloves of Garlic, minced 4 large Tomatoes
5 fresh Basil Leaves
1/2 tablespoon of Sugar
1/2 tablespoon of Sea Salt
In a sauce pan, saute garlic in olive oil. Cut the tomatoes into large 1 inch pieces. Put half of the tomatoes and all of the basil in a food processor. Pulse just until thickly chopped. Pour the tomato and basil mixture into the saute pan with the garlic. Add the remaining tomatoes, sugar and salt. Cook for at least 10 minutes on low heat.
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About the Author
Jenny Steffens is the creator of Occasions by Jenny Steffens, www.occasionskc.com, a blog and website devoted to the glories of entertaining, cooking, home projects, weddings and everyday occasions.