Thursday, March 11, 2010

H is for Helen...

...and Helen makes a Honey of a recipe for spaghetti sauce and meatballs.
Helen is the mother of Joan, one of my very best friends in the world.

She lives in Ohio....and I miss her.

Her Mom used to always make spaghetti sauce when I visited but she has gotten older and probably doesn't like me much anymore because it hasn't happened the last few times I visited there.

If Helen isn't making spaghetti sauce with meatballs for you either I thought I would share the recipe so you can make it yourself.

And I also wanted to share a little Helpful Hint for your salad dressing to serve with Helen recipe.

There is the best pizza restaurant here and they have this yummy dressing...but I could never figure it out because it is reddish like french but tastes almost like a garlick-y Italian. So after years of trying I finally got out out of the waiter.

Here's how they make it: Prepare your usual italian dressing (and this works with store bought, too) and then stir in about 1/4 cup of your spaghetti sauce.

It sounds weird.

I know.

But try it.

It is delicious!

And now...here is Helen's Hellacious recipe!

NO SUBSTITIONS OF BRANDS IN CANNED TOMATOES OR WINE… TRULY… USE THESE EXACT NAMEBRANDS AS IT MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE

2 large onions, coarsely chopped
5 minced cloves of garlic
Olive oil
2 29 ounce cans Hunts tomato sauce
2 12 ounce cans Contadina tomato paste
4 tablespoons of sugar
1 ½ teaspoon of dried thyme
Salt and pepper (start with about a teaspoon of salt and ½ a teaspoon of pepper)
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups MOGAN DAVID CONCORD GRAPE wine (yes, this is technically real wine and don’t substitute)Over low heat sauté onions in several tablespoons of olive oil until they are starting to get translucent…. Don’t brown. Stir in garlic and continue to cook for several more minutes…. Again…. Don’t brown. Sprinkle onions and garlic lightly with salt and pepper. Stir in tomato paste and thyme and cook for several more minutes. Then add all remaining ingredients except butter and wine.

Simmer for approximately 1 hour. Taste the sauce. You may need to add a bit more thyme or even several sprinkles of garlic salt.

Then stir in the wine and the butter and simmer for an additional hour. Simmer is low heat, just a little bubbling with no cover or the cover mostly ajar. While the sauce is cooking make your meatballs.

2 pounds of lean ground beef
½ cup breadcrumbs (either homemade or prepared)
1 large onion finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic
½ t. thyme
1 teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of pepper
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 egg (lightly beaten with a fork)
2 – 6 tablespoons of water (add a bit at a time)
Mix all ingredients EXCEPT WATER together in a bowl. Use two forks or your hands but handle the meat gently and don’t compact it. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time until the meat mixture is slightly moist but holds together still.

Bake meatballs in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes until lightly browned and cooked. Add meatballs to sauce and simmer for the last 20 minutes of time … don’t add when you put the wine and butter in….

Helen doe fry her meatballs in olive oil but it’s so messy and I think the oven method works just fine.

And this Honey of a recipe is brought to you by the letter

post signature


60 comments:

The Muse said...

GASP...
I'm telling the teacher....
I'm telling the teacher....

You uttered the H word...
Ought oh...

LOL LOL LOL

Have a *e*l*c*o*s Day! LOL :)

Now off to make my honey that grocery list with "certain" ingredients!

Erin said...

Tomato sauce in Italian dressing, eh? I'm going to have to try it!

Stopping by to welcome you to SITS!!

Betty said...

The sauce in the salad dressing is a bit unusual, but it does sound like it would work. I'm going to have to try it. I love spaghetti and meatballs!

Unknown said...

LOL! My mom used to cook with Mogan David wine! Sometimes she used it in her cooking but most of the time, not! LOL! I would sneak sips...it was the sweetest stuff ever!

Linda @ A La Carte said...

All I can say is YUMMY! Love spaghetti and this looks really good.

Debbiedoos said...

Now that is interesting....will my Italian ancestors approve??

Amy said...

I'm all about wine that comes in a jug!! LOL

And that recipe sounds divine...I'll be making it I am sure!

Hey...I get to see you in like 12 hours!! :)

Theresa said...

Girl, that sounds delicious but sauce in the salad dressing? Did you sip on the wine while you were typing this? OK, I am gonna try it and share it with friends. Thanks for the recipe!

Julie Harward said...

IT SOUNDS REALLY GOOD TO ME...WILL TRY IT! :D

~✽Mumsy✽~ said...

Oh my goodness, that sounds so delicious, and that dressing with spaghetti is a must try for me..

Tracy said...

sounds fab I am going to have to try it A+ for recipe E- for calories

People Who Know Me Would Say: said...

I'm going to Have tHe Source try tHis one out! It sHows promise...and it Has tHe Matlock stamp of approval!

I just cHecked your numbers. You're a Rock Star. Double tHat and you become a goddess (little g)!

I'm proud of your work and tHrilled for your results!

Enjoy CHickfest!

laterg8r said...

no substitutions = heck!!!

Jo said...

Just stopping by to thank you for visiting me on my SITS day on Friday and for your kind comments.

Peace and serenity,
~Jo
'The End Of The rainbow: Life After Bankruptcy'

Freely Living Life said...

"D" is for drooling which is exactly what I'm doing right now! Yum. I'm thinking spaghetti for dinner tonight boys! Thank you for sharing this recipe with us Jenny and thank you Helen for making this all happen! :P

mrs. c said...

You know I think that I have had that salad dressing before as a house dressing at a little Italian place in town but would have never, ever guessed it had that secret ingredient! I am having so much fun with Alphabe-Thursday that I have gotten my hubby involved as well ( tennessee mudbug) I guess he got tired of me talking about it and all the great ladies I have met! Funny thing, most bloggers that I have run across are women, men read blogs but don't usually contribute. Wonder why?

Viki said...

I had to LOL at the Mogan David wine, my grandpa used to drink that.

Jackie said...

Hello Jenny, I have no idea if I could find the wine you mention but it sounds good .

Mrs. M said...

Spaghetti is the best meal ever - my favorite for sure!!

Unknown said...

Yum....Now I'm very HUNGRY LOL! Thanks for the recipe ... I'll add it to my recipe pile, and try it out soon.
Blessings,
Catherine :)

w said...

what happens if you drink all the wine and you don't have enough for the recipe?

Unknown said...

What is that song??? So great! I love the record player sound.

Unknown said...

Oops...I see it now!

Julie Kwiatkowski Schuler said...

I'm definitely going to try this. Don't take this post down until I come back with some paper and pencil!

My son loves your blog alphabet song. LOL. He came running!

Sue said...

Yum...now I'm starving!

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

There's a restaurant here that makes a vinaigrette with canned whole tomatoes in it. It sounds kind of weird and looks kind of weird, but it's good.

Patty said...

Sounds delicious. Helen probably still likes you if she shared her recipe!

Kat said...

Yummy! This sounds delicious. I love, love, love spaghetti and this sauce sounds very similar to my MIL's, and hers was incredible. There is a small italian restaurant in Denton that Cait likes to go to, and I have a feeling that THIS is how they do their dressing. I'll try it. Kathy

Auntie sezzzzzz... said...

In my last comment, I said I was a "details" woman.

Now I will say that I am a "lazy" woman. I'd never go through all that ingredients-stuff, to get spaghetti sauce, when I can open a jar.

-blush-

-No, no blush- It's ok if I'm lazy! 'Cause I say so. ^_^

chocolatecovereddaydreams.blogspot.com said...

I'll bet that the sauce in the salad dressing would also make a good bread dipper. I'm going to give it a shot. Thanks for the recipes!

MrsJenB said...

Mmmmm! I know what I'm having for dinner tonight. Thank you for sharing this with us! And thanks as always for hosting today!

Vicki/Jake said...

Hi Mrs Matlock! hehe..this is so fun. I just got home from work Hungry! So now I need to go find the wine...
Have a fun time with the *Gals* and let us know how it went.

Justine said...

Okay, gotta be honest. The moment I read "sugar" in the sauce, you lost me. I HATE sweet tomato sauce. hate it. I like mine tart, but not too tart. I cook mine anywhere from 6-10 hours.

Justine :o )

Deb said...

Hip Hip Hooray....

Anonymous said...

this sounds sooo good! I will save this recipe. Thanks Jenny!

lissa said...

love spaghetti and tomato sauce, don't care much for meatballs though, this is one those times I wish I can cook

Brenda said...

H is for Yum? Hubs does not like spaghetti so I do not get it often. This sounds wonderful thanks for sharing.

Tina❀ said...

Yummy! Thanks for sharing Miss Jenny!

Ann said...

Congrats on winning the giveaway...You have 72 hrs to send me your name and email address so that I can submit your name to recieve your giveaway...Congradulations once again...

Ann said...

Congrats on winning the giveaway...You have 72 hrs to send me your name and email address so that I can submit your name to recieve your giveaway...Congradulations once again...

Ann said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lisa Anne said...

We love anything and everything pasta. YUMMMMM I never make my own spaghetti sauce. I'm a bad italian. I'm only a quarter Italian, so that's my excuse. lol

Yvonne @ StoneGable said...

Jenny, Some wonderful things cannot be rushed! And this spaghetti sauce and meatballs sound fabulous!
Yvonne

Sarah said...

This sounds delicious. I'm going to try the salad dressing trick next time I serve pasta sauce.
Will you bring me some leftovers for lunch tomorrow?

GardenOfDaisies said...

Oven meatballs are so much easier than frying them!
I like the idea of putting some of the sauce in the salad dressing! I'll have to try that.
Thanks for making our Thursdays so much fun Jenny!

{:miss v:} said...

That looks so good! Yum-O for sure!

Steph said...

Mmmmm... Couldn't you just make it for me? There isn't much that says home like spaghetti and salad. Comfort Food. I hope Helen will make if for you again soon. Jenny, I also have a blogger question. First, I so liked the thought you expressed over the fly free necklace. I hadn't thought of it that way but it is so appropriate. Ok, how do you respond to comments on your blog with and e-mail that shows the posted comment below? Will you let me in on the secret? Hope you have a great day.

Tara said...

It looks and sounds soooo good, but I must confess, I'm too lazy to make it! I'll just visually enjoy it through the screen!

Anonymous said...

Good brief and this post helped me alot in my college assignement. Say thank you you for your information.

Lola said...

Hi MRs Matlock!

My A-Thursday assignment was posted a bit later than usual yesterday 'cos my computer threw a hissy fit half way through & I had to wait for it to be fixed! (Well, that's a better excuse than my cat ate it!!)

XOXO LOLA:)

Laura said...

Hi Jenny-
I need to get with the program and participate in Alphabet Thursday.
This looks like so much fun!

Laura

White Spray Paint

Anonymous said...

Hi jenny!

2 awards for you!

http://justahappyhousewife.blogspot.com/2010/03/friday-fragments_11.html

jeff campbell said...

Nice post Jenny...thanks for your wonderful comments about my Haiku post...your Haiku was quite fitting although it strayed from the 5-7-5 rule...Peace and blessings

Unknown said...

she must be mad at me....I guess I will have to make my own!

Personalized Sketches and Sentiments said...

Yumm!!!! Thank "H"eaven for "H"elen and your "H"elpful "H"int on the "H"ressing...ooops...dressing! a person can really get carried away with this alphabet thing...especially someone like me who LOVES alliteration!


Blessings & Aloha!

Nancy's Notes said...

What a great recipe, I'll give it a try real soon! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks again for following my blog! I am still trying to get the hang of it all, it's so much fun.

Nancy's Notes

Annesphamily said...

Great post and making me hungry! Yum! I am late checking these Alphabe Thursday posts it! Please forgive me.

Bits-n-Pieces said...

mmmmmmmm..pasketti!

Bits-n-Pieces said...

mmmmmmmm..pasketti!

Jo said...

Helen's recipe sounds Heavenly ... I'm kind of drooling on my keyboard at the moment!