Meatballs and Marinara

You may wonder why I would make my own marinara sauce when it is soooo cheap to buy.  The thing is that I have champagne tastes on a beer budget. I really don't love the popular, mass marketed sauces and it's not in our budget to spend $7 on one of those fancy jars of  "gourmet" tomato sauce for a typical week night meal. I have only recently started making my own sauce and found it to be much tastier than jarred sauce and it really isn't that hard to make. Plus, I can hide an extra veggie in it! I do have to warn you that making it yourself won't save you any money.  So if you are perfectly happy with the stuff at the store, I would just stick with that!

 Healthy Homemade Marinara Sauce- this makes a double batch so take half and freeze it for another day!

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups chopped carrot
• 1 cup diced onion
•  2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 cans (28 ounces each) crushed tomatoes with basil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 and 1/4 tsp coarse salt and 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

to prepare the sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for an additional 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes. Bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 20 minutes. Stir in the salt, pepper, and sugar. Use an immersion blender to puree or let the sauce cool a little before pureeing in a blender. Keep warm over low heat. To eliminate the pureeing step, leave out the carrots and onion and proceed with the rest of the recipe.

sauteed carrots

Blending the sauce after it has simmered

The same reasoning applies to Turkey meatballs. I think that the frozen kind are tough and rubbery and probably highly processed.  I also like making my own because my son loves them and I feel like they are a healthy alternative in a world of processed nuggets and mystery meats for toddlers. Even if you don't feel like spending time on the sauce, I think that homemade meatballs are worth the effort! We serve the sauce and meatballs over whole wheat pasta which makes for a darn healthy dinner!

Turkey Meat Balls-they look prettier if they are browned in a pan first and then baked but to save time and dishes, I just bake them in the oven.

• 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving (optional)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or 1 Tbsp dried Italian herbs)
• 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 1/4 lbs ground turkey
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

My little kitchen helper fresh from the tub

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, parsley, and garlic  until combined. Add the milk, and stir until incorporated. Add the turkey, egg, salt, and pepper, and mix with your hands until well combined. Form mixture into 2-inch balls. Place on a foil lined baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until the centers are no longer pink.