Cadillac Cowgirl Spaghetti and Meatballs

You will love these meatballs and the homemade sauce. I like a good jar of spaghetti sauce any day, but this is really worth the time and it's really great with the meatballs. I've searched a long time for the best meatball recipe and this is by far the best one I've found and adapted over the past few years. You'll love it - I promise!

Meatballs
1/2 lb ground pork (you can use fresh ground pork, ground Italian sausage, etc)
1 1/2 lbs ground sirloin
1 cup Panko style bread crumbs (if you don't have Panko, just use plain breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 1/2 Tbsp chopped parsley (fresh or dried)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup warm water

Sauce
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1/2 large sweet onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup Cabernet or Red Zinfandel wine (use the real stuff...it'll make a difference)
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes with Italian seasonings
1 14 oz can of tomato sauce with Italian seasonings
2 Tbsp chopped parsley (fresh or dried)
1 3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

1 lb of Spaghetti
More Parmesan cheese (Hell Yeah!)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the meatballs. Mix everything around and make your meatballs. You should have about 16 of them. Line a baking sheet with foil and place the meatballs on the baking sheet. Bake them in the oven for 20-25 minutes, turning them over halfway through the cook time so they brown evenly. Take them out of the oven and place them on paper towels to drain the excess grease. Don't worry if they aren't cooked through, they'll finish in the sauce.

While the meatballs are in the oven, start your sauce. Heat the olive oil and add in your onion and garlic. Turn your heat down to medium low and cook until they are tender, about 10 minutes. At that time, add the wine in and cook it on high for a few minutes. The onions will start to absorb the wine and turn purple :) As the wine becomes absorbed, turn the heat down a little and add the crushed tomatoes, half of the tomato sauce, the salt, pepper, and parsley. Stir everything together and then add the meatballs. Cover and cook the sauce on low for 25 minutes.

Cook your spaghetti while the meatballs are finishing up in the sauce. Drain the spaghetti when done and toss it with a little butter if you like. Serve the meatballs over the spaghetti with Parmesan cheese, hot garlic bread and a salad.