Delicious meatballs in a spicy tomato sauce

Who doesn’t love a classic Italian meatball and pasta combo?  This is a great family meal, and can be cooked in bulk, portioned up and frozen for future meals.  Or taken to work the next day for a healthy, balanced lunch. For those of you on a low carbohydrate diet, leave out the pasta and serve with lots of lovely veggies.  You will still get a hit of carbs, but only fromI chose broccoli and kale and it was delicious.

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

20 lean steak meatballs (we used MuscleFood)
2 x large carrots
2 x sticks of celery
2 x white onions
3 x cloves of garlic
1 x tbsp dried oregano
1 x tbsp dried parsley
1 x tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 x tbsp red wine vinegar
2 x tsp crushed chilli
1 x tin chopped tomatoes

Method:

Finely chop your carrots, onions, garlic and celery and add to a pan with your choice of oil.  I added a knob of butter for flavour but that’s optional!  Let the veg cook off for around 15 minutes.  You’re not looking to brown them, just soften them and release all their flavour.  In the last 5 minutes add your dried herbs and vinegars and cook hard for another 5 minutes.  Add your chopped tomatoes and chilli and reduce to a simmer.  If the sauce is too dry at this point, grab the tin for the tomatoes, half fill with water and top up.

In another pan, add the oil of your choice and get the pan nice and hot.  Pop in your meatballs and let them brown off.  Once they’ve browned all over, pop them into the sauce, reduce the heat to a low simmer, cover and leave.  I transferred mine to a casserole dish and put it in the oven and out of the way so I could clear up!  I’m a neat chef and a busy kitchen stresses me out!

After a good 30-45 minutes, cook your pasta or veg, serve up and enjoy!  I had a nice glass of sauvignon blanc with mine, but water goes just as well!

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

 

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