I played with my food tonight!!

LOL I played with my food tonight!!! I made Baked Meatballs & homemade sauce!! I normally cook my meatballs in the sauce but was short on time today. So I googled & found this recipe & it's a keeper!!!

http://cookwithhoney.blogspot.com/2012/04/jens-incredible-baked-meatballs.html

Jen's Incredible Baked Meatballs:

1 pound hamburger, grass-fed if possible
2 eggs, beaten with 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup panko or bread crumbs
1 small onion, minced or grated (1/2 a large onion)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley or basil

Mix all ingredients with hands. Form into golfball sized meatballs. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Tip #2: If you have a leftover piece of rind from the Parmesan, let it simmer in the crock pot with the marinara sauce or save for another soup recipe. This will add a great flavor boost to most any sauce or soup. 

Basic Marinara Sauce

http://www.formerchef.com/2009/09/01/how-to-make-basic-marinara-sauce/

2  yellow onions, peeled and diced (about 2 cups diced)
2 Tbsp olive oil
5-6 cloves of garlic, minced (about 2 Tbsp)
2 Tbsp dried herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, etc)* mixed, total
1/2 cup red wine***(left out)
12 cups peeled and seeded fresh ripe tomatoes** (I didn't de-seed them all)
salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot, heat up the olive oil. Add the onions and cook slowly, on medium heat until they start to caramelize. They should be evenly brown and soft. Cooking them this way brings out the natural sweetness in the onions. Add the garlic and dried herbs and cook for 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the 1/2 cup of red wine and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and their juice and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook on low, stirring occasionally for at least 2 hours, or longer depending on the water content of the tomatoes. The sauce should be thick with much of the water evaporated to concentrate the flavor (sometimes I let it cook 4-5 hours over a very low flame)(I have elec. range). Add salt and pepper to taste. 

My changes are in red