What's for dinner?

This question is posed to me almost nightly by my husband.  Some days, I have a great plan, other days, not so much.  I always want to have an answer to question, but some days get out of control and I cannot think about dinner or fail to take something out of the freezer.

Last night, I actually had an answer and had spent part of my afternoon getting the elements ready for that long simmered taste.  So, what's for dinner you ask?

Pasta and Meatballs.  No not just any pasta, but pasta with fresh tomato sauce.

Hey, I had to use up the rest of the Tanaka farms tomatoes before my crop of tomatoes is ripe.

The first step in making the sauce to is to remove the skins from the tomatoes.

I have to say this is one of my least favorite kitchen tasks.  Once the skins have been removed you crush them by hand, which is fun.  Come on, don't you love to play with your food.

The sauce consists of the deskinned tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil and white wine.  You can leave the sauce chunky with the tomatoes.  My husband prefers his sauce to be a little smoother, so I look my immersion blender to the mix.

The recipe called for the sauce to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. I personally like long simmered sauces if you have the time.  So I let mine simmer for 2 hours.  I periodically taste tested to ensure it was not becoming over reduced.  I salted it toward the end of the cooking time.  I also added a tablespoon of sugar to bring out the naturally sweetness in the tomatoes.

I served it over pasta.  It was delish.  I brought some to my neighbors and they returned the empty dish and asked that age old question "What's for dinner tomorrow night?"Unfortunately, I did not have an answer for them.  I suppose I should think about it.

Now, I could not just serve pasta. So I paired it with some yummy meatballs.  I used ground turkey, since it was what I had on hand.  But it is really up to you on the type of meat.

Ground meat, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic, and eggs.  What could be better?  I baked them in the oven and served them as a side dish.

You could throw these into the sauce and let them simmer away, that is what grandma would have done.

Fresh Tomato Sauce

3-5 lbs fresh ripe tomatoes
1 bunch basil leaves (removed from the stems and finely chopped)
1 tablespoon oregano leaves (finely chopped)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion (finely chopped)
8 to 10 cloves of garlic (minced)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper

Place tomatoes in a large pan with water to cover. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the skins crack, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain in a colander. Rinse with cold water.  Then squeeze the pulp out of the skins (or just peel) into a bowl. Crush by hand and set aside.

Heat a heavy-bottomed sauce pan over high heat Add the onion, garlic, basil and oregano and saute 3 to 4 minutes. Add the wine and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and sugar.  Salt and pepper to taste. Continue cooking over moderately high heat for 10 to 15 minutes.

Meatballs

2 lbs. ground chuck (or turkey or pork, any meat of your choice)
2 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves minced garlic

Mix all ingredients together and form into round balls. Put on a greased cookie sheet. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees. NOTE: If you use a lower fat meat like turkey, add a tablespoon of olive oil.