Mama-liscious Meatballs

I don't think I've ever posted twice in one day, but this one is worth it. Faith and patience, peeps.

I'm feeling a bit better this evening. My list went to shmit, but that's okay. I accomplished a couple other things on my crap list so I'm feeling pretty good. However, I did mourn the death of my favorite pair of Joe's this morning - a worn part of the knee finally tore. I guess I can add find another favorite pair of jeans to my crap list.

But onto my point of this happy post.

Meatballs are awesome. I love Jersey-style meatballs. I learned to make sauce and meatballs from my ex's Sicilian mother and grandmother when I lived in Jersey. I'm going to share with you my "recipe", but it doesn't involve measuring cups so bear with me.

First, the sauce is easy - use a large stock pot.

2/3 large white onion, chopped (yellow onions are nasty)
2 spoonfuls (heaping) of minced garlic
3 swirls of olive oil out of the oil dispenser
2 large cans tomato sauce
1 (or 2) cans diced tomatoes
(you can blanch your own tomatoes and smash them, but it takes about 15+, and they aren't in season right now)
fresh basil (or just seasoning)
oregano
salt

The key with the sauce is your garlic and onions - put your garlic and onions in the pot and throw in your swirls of oil. Saute on medium heat until your onions are clearish but BEFORE your garlic is brown. When garlic browns, you lose flavor. When onions start to get clear, you ADD flavor.
Add the sauces and diced tomatoes, and let it heat again.
Toss in minced basil (to almost cover the top of your sauce), oregano (a little less than the basil), and salt (a little less than the oregano). Stir it in. Let it heat again for about 15 minutes. Sauce is super easy - people over-complicate it.

Now for the meatballs.

2 - 3 lbs lean ground beef
basil
oregano
fresh parm
2 - 3 eggs
bread crumbs
ricotta (optional)

First thing first, and the biggest mistake people make - DO NOT BROWN OR SAUTE YOUR GOD DAMN MEATBALLS. They do not belong in a saute pan, they get dropped directly into the sauce. Second, you really can't OVER-season sauce or meatballs, but you can very easily under-season. If you're in question, add more.
Throw your ground beef in a mixing bowl and add minced fresh basil (or just seasoning, but fresh is always better) and oregano - enough to almost cover your meat. Add about a half a handful of fresh grated parm. I like to toss in a couple of spoonfuls of ricotta. Use two eggs if your ground beef is on the lower end of the weight, 3 if on the higher. I would estimate you want about a quarter cup of bread crumbs. Then, dive your hands in and mix. You want them to be sticky - not sopping wet, but sticky. If it's too wet, add more bread crumbs. Smush them into 1.5-2.5 inch balls and toss them in your sauce (ha - that sounds like it could be dirty).
Cook them for at least an hour and a half on low heat if you made them smaller, two hours if you made them larger. Personally, I let mine sit for three hours if they are on the larger side. I just kind of move them around a little bit as they cook to make sure they stay buried in the sauce. I call ones that pop back up "turtles", and push them back under.

My recipe makes a lot - but I always make extra because the leftovers are gone within a day in our house.

I'd love to insert a picture here, but I licked my bowl clean. :)