- I start with whatever vegetables I have in the vegetable bin that are on their last legs for crispness. Today was Roma tomatoes, celery stalks, green onions and snap peas.
- Then I drizzle olive oil and salt and pepper over them all and bake it for an hour at 400°.
- I started the sauce with a can of Contadina tomato paste, 1 teaspoon Better than Beef Bouillon paste, 2 cups orange juice and a V8. This truly was a clean out the fridge day.
- When done roasting add the vegetables to the sauce and set to simmer all day. The vegetables will continue to cook down into a uniform consistency with the sauce.
- Salt & pepper to taste.
For the sauce:
1 pound COSTCO organic ground beef
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage
1 medium Vidalia onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
5 large Roma tomatoes, slice thin
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon fennel seed
2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- Brown ground beef, Italian sausage, onions and garlic. Drain fat.
- Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste and tomato sauce.
- Stir in sugar, salt, pepper, basil, Italian seasoning and fennel, mixing well.
- Lay tomato slices evenly on top. Cover.
- Simmer for 2 hours over low heat. Stir in tomato slices until well blended. At this time you can proceed to finish the lasagna or refrigerate the sauce until ready.
For the meatballs:
1 pound COSTCO organic ground beef
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
3 large slices sourdough bread, crumbled
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon fennel
2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley
1 bunch green onions, finely minced
2 teaspoons minced garlic, jar
mozzarella cheese, about 4 ounces, cut into 1 inch cubes
- Crumble bread into a large bowl.
- Toss in Parmesan cheese, parsley, green onions and garlic.
- Add meat and with your hands mix extremely well until you have a uniform mixture.
- Roll meatballs around a Parmesan cheese cube.
- Chill Meatballs until sauce is done.
- Just before the sauce is finished, brown meatballs.**
- Add the meatballs to the sauce and bring to a medium high simmer until meatballs are cooked though, about 20 minutes.
- Prepare pasta and Parmesan Cheese Bread while meatballs are cooking.
- Enjoy
**If you prefer you can add the meatballs directly to the sauce and SLOW simmer for a couple hours instead of browning.