Godfather Spaghetti

Lately Rhitt and I have been staying up late at night watching the Godfather series....which I love by the way.  In first movie, one of Vito Corelone's men is showing the young Micheal Corelone (Al Pacino) how to make spaghetti.....that scene inspired me to share my favorite spaghetti recipe made from scratch  (well, scratch to me!)....and trust me, the small extra effort is worth it....I have officially left my Ragu days behind!

To begin take one pound of hamburger and add the bread crumbs, parsley, parmeasan cheese, black pepper, garlic powder, and egg into a large bowl.  Mix well and form into 12-13 balls (about the size of a ping pong ball).  Set aside, covered in your refrigerator until you need them.

Next, in a large saucepan over medium heat, saute your onions and garlic in olive oil until almost translucent. 

Stir in all your tomatoes, as well as your salt, sugar, and a bay leaf or two. 

Cover this mixture and and reduce heat to low-ish.  Let the sauce simmer for a good 30 minutes.  At this point its time to stir in the tomato paste, basil, garlic powder, and italian seasoning, and about 1/2 tsp of pepper. 
(You'll notice in my sauce below that I added a little zucchini....go ahead and add your favorite veggies if  you would like.)

Now...the most important part of the recipe...add the raw meatballs to the simmering sauce on medium-ish heat.  That'r right.........RAW.....I remember when I first tried this recipe I was a little leary of not cooking my meatballs before adding them to the sauce...but I was pleasantly surprised.  The meat really flavors the sauce.  So I repeat...don't pre-cook your meatballs :).  Simmer for 30 more minutes or until meatballs have cooked to a nice juicy brown color.  Be sure to stir them every once in a while so that they cook evenly.  You will not be dissapointed with this recipe!!!

Oh, I forgot to mention...this makes a HUGE batch....and believe me, the left-overs are soooooo good :) 

Do yourself a fav; go rent the Godfather with the hubs and eat spaghetti like there's no tomorrow :)

Godfather Spaghetti

Meatballs
1 pound of hamburger
1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon dried parsley
2-3 tablespoons of grated parmeason cheese
1/4 ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg, beaten

Sauce
3/4 cup chopped onion
5 cloves garlic, minced (or if your like me, you buy in the squeeze tube at wal-mart)
1/4 cup olive oil
*******this part is up to you**********
for chunky sauce you will need (my favorite):
2 14 ounce cans of diced tomatoes & 2 14 ounce cans of whole tomatoes

for thinner sauce you will need:
4 14 ounce cans of diced tomatoes

(or whatever combination of tomatoes just as long as they come out to about 56 ounces)

2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of white sugar
1-2 bay leaves
1 6ounce can of tomato paste
1 tsp of italian seasonings
1/2 tsp of basil
1 tsp garlic powder

Lots of cooked spaghetti noodles :)