Venison Meatballs & Homemade Sauce

It’s been a while since I’ve updated here. It’s been almost as long since I’ve tried to actually create something on my own. I attempted scalloped potatoes, but that was completely fail on my part. I didn’t cook it long enough. By the time it was cooked thoroughly, it was time for us to leave for some classes. I also avoided using a lot of cheese, so it lost a lot of good flavor there.

Anyway, I have faith that my attempt today will be edible. My son has requested spaghetti & meatballs. I’ve attempted meatballs before as a super bowl party snack a few years back. They actually turned out flavored nicely. However, there was a bit too much salt added. I am going to attempt to make meatballs again. At the very least, if I fail at these meatballs, the sauce will be nice enough for just a simple tomato sauce and pasta.

Just simple note before I begin. These things can be flavored to your liking. This is a good example of how I play with some seasonings to achieve a little flavor that I enjoy. This seasoning combination may or may not be your thing. A part of cooking is experimenting for your own fun and preferences! Maybe you will like what I have made, maybe not. Either way, enjoy the cooking!

Venison Meatballs & Homemade Tomato Sauce

Makes 4-8 Servings
- 5 Large Tomato
- salt
- pepper
- 1-2 tsp olive oil
- 2 bay leaves
- 3-4 cloves of garlic
- 1 large onion
- dried oregano
- dried sage
- dried basil leaves
- dried parsley
- dried rosemary
- 1 6oz can tomato paste
- 1lb ground venison
- 1 egg
- mustard powder
- oats
- seasoned bread crumbs
- 1 tsp maple syrup

Over medium heat, added 1-2 tsp of olive oil to a large saucepan. While pan heats, dice tomatoes and add to sauce pan. Season with a little salt and pepper. Stir occasionally.

In large mixing bowl place venison. Season with a little salt and pepper.

While tomatoes cook, dice onion, and mince garlic. Place 3/4 of onion in the sauce pan. Place the remaining 1/4 of onion into mixing bowl with venison. Place 1 clove of minced garlic in mixing bowl and the remaining garlic into the sauce pan.

Lower heat for sauce pan to simmer.

NOTES:
* Below is just an estimation of what I put in. I did not measure any of the following before putting them in.
* The rosemary for the meatball mixture was first placed into a small plastic bag and crushed to much smaller pieces. I wasn’t sure if it would cook long enough for it to soften as it will in the sauce.

In sauce pan add:
- a little more salt/pepper to taste.
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 1 tsp dried basil leaves
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tbsp dried rosemary
- 1 6oz can tomato paste

In mixing bowl add:
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp dried basil leaves
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp crushed dried rosemary
- 1 tsp mustard powder
- 2 tbsp seasoned bread crumbs

Cover sauce pan with lid and leave on stove to simmer until you are ready for dinner. Check to stir occasionally and add water if necessary.

Combine ingredients in mixing bowl. Shape mixture into 1 inch meatballs and place on a cookie sheet. Bake meatballs for 25-30 minutes at 375.

If you are choosing to have this over pasta, heat water to boil while the meatballs cook in oven. Don’t forget to add a bit of olive oil to help keep your pasta from sticking together.

When meatballs are done baking, add the teaspoon of maple syrup to your tomato sauce and stir well. Place meatballs in sauce and let simmer while pasta cooks.

Serve when pasta done and enjoy!

Evaluation
successful: √

This turned out very well! The sauce had great flavor. Hubby said that I could have saved time/effort and just used a specialty tomato sauce from a jar. I’m going to take that as a compliment. The meatballs were a nice treat as well. Everything worked well together except for the pasta I chose.

Generally I would choose angel hair pasta. However, I wanted to do something a little different this time. I picked some shells out of the pantry. I do agree with hubby’s opinion that angel hair would have suited this meal much better than shells. Maybe next time I’ll attempt to make homemade mac & cheese with shells. Those would complement a nice cheesy dish perfectly.