I guess you could say I was spoiled when it came to food while I was growing up. My family on my mom’s side is pretty Italian and we always had amazing food. That’s probably why I tend to be a food snob when it comes to Italian food – especially in a Midwestern community where good Italian food is hard to come by. The hardest thing to find around here is a good meatball.

This particular meatball recipe has been passed down from my Grandfather, to my mother and now to me. It’s not much of a recipe since I was told, “just add the spices and stuff until it smells right.” So I did that, and I think I did my very best to make the meatballs “just like Grandpop does”. It’s pretty hard for me to get things exactly the same without measurements so I have practiced measuring out the ingredients for you (and me). And, now you can make Grandpop’s meatballs too. Trust me, they’re the best meatballs in the world.

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To make traditional spaghetti and meatballs, just make a double batch of my Quick & Easy Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce. Then once the meatballs are done baking, drop them into the sauce and simmer it for as long as you have time. This infuses the sauce with the flavor of the meatballs. (Typically we add spare ribs too, but sometimes I have trouble finding them). The recipe does make a decent amount of meatballs, but if we have any left over we either make meatball sandwiches or freeze them. Same goes for the sauce because you will have enough to make at least two pounds of spaghetti.