Easy Meatballs In A Light Tomato Sauce

  Imagine meatballs served with lightly cooked vegetables and spaghetti.  This meatball recipe in a light tomato sauce is one I found in a magazine one night, long ago, when my plan to use ground beef for dinner led me on a search for another option.  A heavy tomato sauce with meatballs and spaghetti just didn’t seem appetizing on this day.

     Meatloaf did not sound good, and a Mexican dish did not sound particularly appetizing either.  Searching through cookbooks and magazines for something new and different, I found this recipe.  Since then, it has become one of my favorite ways to use ground beef.

Tomatoes

    I usually use canned petite diced tomatoes, unless it is summer and we have fresh garden-grown tomatoes.   Most of the tomatoes from the store are not as flavorful and are mushy.  The canned tomatoes are picked and canned at the optimum time and will still have a better flavor than those from the grocery.

    In an earlier post, I wrote about how I tested two different kinds of canned tomatoes on a whim.  Boy, was I surprised!  The Hunt’s brand tomatoes were so much better tasting, in my opinion!  Who would have thought there would be such a difference from one brand to another?  You might want to try this for yourself! Clearly, that affects my choice of canned tomatoes.

Directions:

Mix the ground beef, fresh bread crumbs, egg, pepper, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 cup of water in a large bowl.    Shape this mixture into meatballs of uniform size.  (I usually divide the mixture into fourths and divide each of those into four pieces.)  You can make them bigger or smaller but adjust the cooking time.

 

In a large skillet, brown the meatballs on all sides.  Don’t overcrowd the skillet. Brown half and remove to a plate and brown the other half, if necessary.  Remove the meatballs after browning.

Add the vegetables to the drippings in the skillet and cook for 10 minutes.  Stir often.  Add the tomatoes with juice, wine, basil, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

 

 

 Add the meatballs to the vegetable mixture in the skillet.  Heat to boiling over high heat.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are done.

Serve over pasta, (We like thin spaghetti.), or rice, and garnish with chopped fresh parsley and lemon zest.

To Use Fresh Tomatoes

   If you want to use fresh ripe tomatoes instead of canned ones, just peel them and dice them before adding them to the recipe.  A little water or chicken broth can be added to thin the sauce if it seems too thick.

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   My family likes this over thin spaghetti, which cooks in 6 minutes, but it is good over rice, too.  Add some fresh parsley on top of each serving.  I know it seems a little strange to me, but lemon zest sprinkled on top of each serving adds a little tang to this dish and really brightens the flavor.  I highly recommend trying it, at least once.

Yield: 6 servings

Easy Meatballs In A Light Tomato Sauce

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1-1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1-1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs – (3 slices fresh bread)
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• Salt
• 2 Tblsp. olive oil (more if needed)
• 1 large onion, cut into thin wedges 
• 1 cup mini carrots, sliced
• 1 celery stalk, sliced
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 1 Tblsp. chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tsp. grated lemon peel

Instructions

Directions:

Mix the ground beef, fresh bread crumbs, egg, pepper, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 cup of water in a large bowl.    Shape this mixture into meatballs of uniform size.  (I usually divide the mixture into fourths and divide each of those into four pieces.)  You can make them bigger or smaller but adjust the cooking time.

In a large skillet, brown the meatballs on all sides.  Don’t overcrowd the skillet. Brown half and remove to a plate and brown the other half, if necessary.  Remove the meatballs after browning.

Add the vegetables to the drippings in the skillet and cook for 10 minutes.  Stir often.  Add the tomatoes with juice, wine, basil, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. 

 Add the meatballs to the vegetable mixture in the skillet.  Heat to boiling over high heat.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are done.

 Serve over pasta, (We like thin spaghetti.),  and garnish with chopped fresh parsley and lemon zest.

   If you want to use fresh ripe tomatoes, just peel them and dice them before adding them to the recipe.  A little water or chicken broth can be added to thin the sauce if it seems too thick.

   My family likes this over thin spaghetti, which cooks in 6-minutes, but it is good over rice, too.  Add some fresh parsley on top of each serving.  I know it seems a little strange to me, but lemon zest sprinkled on top of each serving adds a little tang to this dish and really brightens the flavor.  I highly recommend trying it, at least once.