Italian Meatballs

As you may know, I like to be creative when I cook, using a recipe as a suggestion.  We wanted meatballs and pasta for dinner last night, and had no ready made meatballs in the freezer.  So, I planned to pick some up on the way home from work.  Instead I found a recipe online and thought I'd give it a whirl.  We really enjoyed the creation.  Here is my approximate version of what I came up with last night.

1/2 pound Italian sausage

1 pound hamburger

1/4 cup shredded parmasan 

1/4 cup seasoned Italian breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon minced garlic, maybe heaping

1/4 cup tomato sauce

Italian seasoning to taste. In this case, I used Penzey's Frozen Pizza seasoning, about a tablespoon.

Mix well, form into meatballs.  There were approximately 30 one inch meatballs when done.  I fried them, but the would work well in the broiler.

Then, we made shells and found out that we had no pasta sauce.

So, I created pasta sauce.  I usually use a red wine in my sauce, but we didn't have any.  This one was pretty basic.

Heat up the leftover tomato sauce.  I added Penzey's Frozen Pizza Seasoning again, about a tablespoon, some of their roasted garlic, about a 1/2 teaspoon and some Tastefully Simple Mama Mia Seasoning, about a tablespoon. Heat and let simmer until done.   

My regular recipe for this, sauté some minced garlic, onions and green peppers, finely chopped in olive oil.  Add Roma tomatoes, breaking them up when softened by the heat.  Add some red wine. Add water as needed.