Reviewed: Jul. 26, 2009

There was a ton of oil from the meatballs even though it was a lean cut. I had to spoon it out with a ladel. I also thought the sauce was too tart. Granted, the meatballs were pretty good, but overall nothing really exciting.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

teakettica

Cooking Level: Intermediate

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jul. 26, 2009

This was really good. My only modification was to use one can of crushed tomatoes in place of one of the cans of whole tomatoes. However the tomatoes broke down just fine so maybe next time I will just use the whole tomatoes as called for and use a potato masher to break up the chunks. In the meatballs I did also increase the parmesan chesse to about 1/4 cup and garlic powder to maybe 3 tablespoons and added a little chicken stock. I made this in my slow cooker and cooked the sauce for three hours before adding the meatballs and remaining ingredients and cooked for about two more hours. A great classic comfort food recipe that is easy to make all day in the slow cooker.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Brook

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Sacramento, California, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jul. 26, 2009

This is a delicious sauce! I think the meatballs are still missing some flavor, and next time I will increase the herbs and cheese in them. Close to what I'm looking for in the perfect Italian spaghetti sauce!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

carrie_cooks

Cooking Level: Intermediate

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jul. 25, 2009

Thank you for such a great recipe! Only changes I made were that I blended the whole tomatoes in the blender before adding to sauce, as I don't care for chunky sauce. Holy cow was this recipe great! My search for a great spaghetti & meatballs recipe is over! I would also advise to use the lean ground beef to avoid an oil slick on your sauce later! Thanks again for such a great recipe, boiling the meatballs in the sauce is the secret to making this sauce amazing. :)

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

meow1205

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jul. 24, 2009

Very good, Hubby likes them! (picky hubby) I liked the meatballs on spaghetti and on a sub sandwich. Only thing I did different was use diced tomatos instead of whole, turned out great any way.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Amanda

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jul. 23, 2009

Meatballs only: very good. I would add more seasoning for taste i.e onion powder, salt, and more garlic. I would never have thought to cook them in the sauce. I use canned sauce, despite everyone's claim that the sauce is so good. I have found canned sauce, when added to, is quite delicious.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Sarah

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Biloxi, Mississippi, USA

Living In: Gulfport, Mississippi, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jul. 23, 2009

Awesome meatballs and sauce! From reading the other ratings before trying it,I decided to add a half c. of milk to the meatball mixture and they turned out beautiful. Not a real big fan of chunky sauce so before adding the meatballs to the sauce, I removed the bay leaves and put my "boat motor" to work on the sauce. If you love Italian food, this is the kind of stuff you dream about. Thanks Jeremy!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Gary

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jul. 21, 2009

My husband said it was the best spaghetti I ever made...I did add sausage to the meatballs and upped the parm cheeze. This is my new recipe for spaghetti!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

LuCinda Hodge

Home Town: Mebane, North Carolina, USA

Living In: Asheville, North Carolina, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jul. 19, 2009

Both my husband I loved this sauce! I will be making this one from now on! Thank you for the excellent recipe! It was delightful!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Laydeebug

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jul. 18, 2009

I added a LOT of dried oregano,basil,parley. As well as a handful of grated parm. Only because my family likes heavily seasoned food. Then before I served I added Fresh basil.. My hub insisted he grill the meatballs.. yes he LOVES to grill.. so I added the grilled meatballs to the sauce 10 mins before I served. The sauce was my first time making sauce from scratch.. I can't wait to do this again. Thanks for the great recipe

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

GIGI637

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Miami, Florida, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jul. 18, 2009

This recipe is one of the favorites I have found so far for pasta sauces, and I have tried quite a few in the past few months. I did make some adjustments (as does everyone on this site). I used 2 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes (not whole tomatoes) - mostly personal preference. When making the meatballs, I used 1/2 cup of crushed Club crackers because I ran out of breadcrumbs (had like 1/8 of a cup or something... so useless!) I then added 1/4 cup of milk to the meatballs. Oh, and I also used 1/2 lb ground pork and 1/2 lb ground beef as well as fresh parsley (didn't have any dried on hand, and fresh is so cheap anyway). I cooked the meatballs in the sauce, which I agree was a great method of cooking. This recipe is fantastic, and I will use it again. Thanks!!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Becca

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Sugar Land, Texas, USA

Living In: College Station, Texas, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jul. 16, 2009

This was excellent! I made changes as follows...reduced recipe for 4 servings instead of 6. Used diced tomatoes with the basil and garlic in them already, so did not use this in the recipe. Also, used onion powder, as I cannot tolerate whole onions. Will continue to use this recipe instead of buying sauce for pasta, but will puree the tomatoes a little before cooking...Other than that, was fantastic.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

hobbesla4

Cooking Level: Beginning

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jul. 15, 2009

The sauce was outstanding! I used 1 - 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes & 2 - 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes that I ran through my food processor first to more or less puree them. I left all the other measurements for the sauce the same. The meatballs were okay...I found them to be a little dry. Maybe from too many bread crumbs added. I did up the parmesan cheese and garlic powder a little. I will definitely use this recipe again and try to alter the meatballs a little. Thanks!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Catlin

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Mcpherson, Kansas, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jul. 14, 2009

Very Very Good Thank you for this WONDERFUL Receipe. It was soo easy.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

kelly28

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jul. 13, 2009

Great sauce! I used my own meatball recipe cause it's a family favorite. I did crush the tomatoes by hand just so that the sauce wasn't so chunky and I added a little garlic powder. My hus band was extremely impressed along with my guests. Great flavor and so worth the few extra minutes to make homemade sauce!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

aprilh

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jul. 12, 2009

Thank you for this receipe. I love it. I made small modification to it. I use ground turkey and added some fresh basil to the meat mixture. I also added 3/4 of a teaspoon of dried oregano to the sauce because I love the spice.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

sunfluer

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jul. 9, 2009

Fantastic! I was looking to make homemade meatballs and this recipe looked perfect. Now, I won't have to buy, pre-made sauce ever again. For the sauce I used 2 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes. My sons don't like chunky tomatoes in thier sauce. I also added oregano and thyme along with the bay leaf in the beginning. I did not add any salt. For the meatballs, I used 1.5 pounds of 85% lean ground beef. I also started out with 1/2 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs and 4 Tbls. shredded Parmesean (we like cheese). I've learned you can always add ingredients but it is difficult to take away. I found though that I did't need to add any more bread crumbs. I also added some saueteed onions and minced garlic for more flavor. This mixture made 16 meatballs. My sons did comment that they looked large, I thought they looked normal. Maybe next time, I'll make them smaller. Cooking the meatballs in the sauce was awesome. I simmered my sauce for 90 minutes, added the meatballs and cooked them for about 45 minutes. I made Garlic Bread Mama Rita's Way! from this website, to go with our meal. My son's gobbled everything up!!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful