Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

Recipes from a year ago:

• Herb-Roasted Chicken with Fennel
• Pork Chops with Apple Cabbage Slaw

If you’re looking for a simple recipe for a weeknight, this is a good one.  You can pair it with roasted spaghetti squash for “spaghetti and meatballs,” or you can simply enjoy it as a thick hearty soup like we did the other night.

Gather Up (for the sauce):

• 1 quart home-canned tomatoes
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 3/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp marjoram
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp no-salt seasoning
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 6 mushrooms, sliced thin
• 1 tbsp coconut oil

Gather Up (for the meatballs):

• 1 lb ground grass-fed beef or wild game
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 egg (not pictured)
• 1/4 cup almond flour (not pictured)
• 1 tsp no-salt seasoning
• 3/4 tsp ground mustard
• 3/4 tsp whole anise seed
• 3/4 tsp whole fennel seed
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 3 tbsp coconut oil

In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the meatball ingredients and mix well with your hands.  Roll the mixture into golf-ball sized meatballs and set aside.

In a large sauce pan, melt the coconut oil over medium  heat.  Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onions start to turn translucent.  Add the mushrooms on continue to saute until they soften.

Add the remaining sauce ingredients and bring to a low simmer.

Melt 1-1/2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat.  Working in batches, sear the meatballs to brown and seal the outsides, turning often (you want them to still be raw in the middle).  As the meatballs finish, add them to the pot of sauce, and add more coconut oil as needed to the pan to keep the meatballs from sticking.

Cover and simmer the sauce and meatballs for about 20 minutes to finish cooking the meatballs.  Let cool a little, then serve over spaghetti squash or ladle into bowls and serve as a hearty tomato soup with meat.