Penne Pasta and Meatballs

 Penne Pasta and Meatballs

You can’t go wrong with Pasta for Valentine’s Day.  It just fits perfectly on a table with a pretty table cloth and candles.  Add some crusty bread, a salad, and a bottle of nice wine and you’ve set the atmosphere for romance.  Here’s one of my favorite penne pasta dishes with my homemade sauce and meatballs.  No short cuts taken here….after all, it’s for that special Valentine.

Penne Pasta and Meatballs 

1 pound Penne Pasta

2 cups of mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, shredded, divided

Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter

1/2 sweet onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1 (28 oz) can of crushed tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can of tomato sauce
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon white sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until tender, stirring frequently. Add the remaining ingredients.  Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, parsley, basil, oregano and sugar.  Salt and pepper to taste and simmer for at least 2 hours.

Meatballs

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small sweet onion, diced finely
1 cloves of garlic, minced

1 lb.  ground chuck

½ cup Italian style breadcrumbs
2 eggs
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, gently combine beef, eggs, breadcrumbs, onion and garlic with hands. Add in basil and parsley and mix lightly. Form into small meatballs and set aside. 

Add butter and olive oil to large skillet and brown meatballs on all sides.  Remove meatballs from skillet and add to tomato sauce  and allow to continue simmering for another 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare pasta as directed on box and drain well.  

Toss pasta with sauce and meatballs and pour into baking dish.  

Add 1 cup of the mozzarella and 1/4 of the Parmesan and mix through very gently.  Top with remaining cheese bake for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

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