Sunday, Macaroni Sunday...

DISCLAIMER - when I cook my own dishes, I rarely measure.  I hate to use the coined RR term but I really am an "eyeball it" kind of girl with my original recipes.  So, I apologize in advance for the lack of clarity with them.

Sunday has always been a great food day in my family.  When we were little, we spent most of them at my grandparents' apartment and did the typical Italian Sunday thing...pasta with meat and sauce (in one form or another...as we know, there are a ton of variations), followed by more meat, veggies, salad (Nonno always made the salad and put it in the same big, yellow plastic bowl, week after week...if anyone has a picture of him and that bowl, please send it to me!), wine, and dessert.

Dinner was an all-day event...one that involved 10 crazy boys and girls, and a bunch of adults who basically ignored them and let them just.be.kids.  It was awesome.

Sundays aren't always like that anymore, for one reason or another (I'd love to have more of them!)...when we're all together though, it's much of the same (except it's 4 1/2 crazy kids...Nicky will be running with the big dogs soon).

Today is an "off" Sunday...just the 3 of us at home.  But the sauce can still be found on the stove, along with the meatballs.  That's the variation today - Ravioli with my meatballs and marinara.  And salad.  No big yellow bowl though.  Where did that bowl go, anyway?

Four Cheese Ravioli with Meatballs and Marinara


Meatballs: (this made about 25)
one onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1.25 lb. ground beef (normally I'd use beef, pork and veal but didn't have it today)
1/2 cup italian bread crumbs
1 egg
4 T. parsley (didn't have fresh today so I used dried)
a little salt
extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup flour

***another disclaimer***  I pretty much never make my meatballs and my sauce the same way.  It all depends on what I have available and what my mood is.  Sometimes I bake, sometimes I fry, sometimes I add other spices/ingredients.  And, all measurements are approximate.

Mix all ingredients except oil and flour together in a bowl.  With your hands, incase you need to be told that.  Meatballs are meant to make you get down and dirty with your food.  Take approximately one tablespoon worth of meat mixture and roll into a ball until you're done.

Heat a large skillet over high heat and add EVOO.  Lightly dust each meatball with flour and add to the pan.  DO NOT OVERCROWD.  When fully cooked, transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess grease.

Marinara:
extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
crushed red pepper
3 large (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes
2 T. tomato paste
salt
dried basil
dried parsley
garlic powder
pinch of sugar

Heat a dutch oven over medium-high heat and add EVOO.  Add crushed red pepper, then onion and garlic, making sure not to overbrown them.  Add tomatoes and tomato paste, then the rest of the ingredients.  As soon as sauce starts to boil, lower heat to a simmer, and cook for about an hour.

(after dinner, I had enough sauce leftover to fill a large chinese soup container and freeze...the rest went into the fridge in a smaller container)

Tonight I made Kirkland (Costco brand) Four Cheese Ravioli to go with this.  If you haven't tried it, pick some up - it's really good.

Linked to:  Meatball Blog Hop