meatball tomato sauce 1175

On Thu, 15 Dec 2005, jmcquown

I'm with Jill. The only sauce I make that I put meatballs in is spaghetti sauce, so you may be wanting something more sweet if the meatballs are the main item - to be served as stand-alone item or on a toothpick, etc.

For spaghetti sauce, I use tomato sauce and canned tomatoes. I prefer diced, into "mush" and help thicken the sauce. I don't ever try to use fresh tomatoes in the "off season" because I can't get any that are good. I add diced bell pepper to mine, also. I use garlic, sweet basil, oregano, salt and pepper for seasonings in addition to the onions and bells. I do use, usually, a tablespoon or so of white sugar. And, I do use some red wine or red wine vinegar, so the Balsamic might be good.

Brown sugar is better suited to tomato based items like bbq sauce or baked beans - a heavier, denser sauce. But, if you have made this recipe before and you like the brown sugar effect, then go for it. I wouldn't use it in spaghetti sauce, but I can see it for meatballs or chickentail sausages, etc.

I wouldn't put any cream (or other milk product) in spaghetti sauce, but I use it for "cream of ..." soups - like tomato. So, that is an option, too. (and maybe why the original lady used the ketchup - quick, if not real tasty, tomato soup)

I make a bbq sauce-like sauce for chickentail sausages, but I usually make a kinda beefy cream sauce for my meatballs. It isn't a "swedish meatball" sauce but is along those lines.

You have just given me a great idea for a "party food". A big crock pot of great spaghetti sauce and lots of hot, crusty garlic bread. I've wasted a lot of my life cooking spaghetti and making a salad while everybody in the house gathered in the kitchen to dunk stolen hunks of bread into my simmering sauce pot. Maybe I'll call it something original like ... fondue!

Good luck with whatever you choose to do. Let us know how it turned out.

Elaine, too