Mom's Pasta Sauce

My German-Irish mother makes a killer pasta sauce. She learned how to make it from an Italian neighbor when I was a wee tot and for as long as I can remember, there's always been a pot of sauce in the fridge at home.

When I moved away from home (Knoxville, TN) to work in Nashville, making my own sauce was not an issue. If I wanted it, I went home on the weekend. Ditto when I moved back to East Tennessee. I lived in a small town about 1-1/2 hours from home. It wasn't until I moved to the DC suburbs that I finally had to make my own.

The recipe is quite easy to make and it freezes well, so I usually make a big pot with lots of meatballs and freeze it in 32 ounce jars. And when you want pasta for dinner, just pop a frozen jar of sauce in the fridge in the morning and let it thaw while you're at work. Easy, peasy.

Here's the recipe with pictures.
Mom's Pasta Sauce:
Olive oil
3 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1 (12 ounce) can tomato paste
4-6 cloves garlic, slightly smashed
1/2 cup each: rough chopped fresh parsley, fresh basil and fresh oregano
1/2 cup grate Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp sugar
Pinch of salt and pepper

Meatballs:
2-1/2 lbs lean ground beef
2 tbsp each: finely chopped fresh basil, oregano and parsley
1 egg
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese
Pinch of salt and pepper

1. Pour 3-4 tbsp olive oil and garlic in a large pot. If only making meat sauce, add 2 lb ground beef. If making meatballs, add about 3 ounces of beef. Using a wooden spoon, saute until beef is browned.

2. Add crushed tomatoes and tomato paste*, stir.

3. Add fresh herbs, cheese and sugar; stir again. Once sauce begins to bubble, turn it down to medium-low. (Sugar cuts down the acidity of the tomatoes)

To make the meatballs:
1. Place the rest of the ground beef, 2 tbsp each of finely chopped basil, oregano and parsley, 1 beaten egg, bread crumbs, cheese and salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl. (I forgot to finely chop which makes it a pain to mix together)2. Mix gently until everything is just combined. 3. Roll into golf ball sized meatballs. 4. Gently slide them into the sauce. Use the wooden spoon to gently push the meatballs into the sauce if needed.Place a lid over the pot, leaving room for steam to vent and turn the burner to low. Cook for 90 minutes, stirring every 30 minutes.*A trick I learned from my mom: Cut open both ends of the tomato paste can. Take off the bottom lid and let the paste slide out of the can. Take off the top lid once it'’s all out of the can. The can is clean as a whistle and you haven'’t wasted any of the paste.