So my task was meatballs and sauce. I didn't want to go with a store bought sauce, thought I'd try my own, just kind of alter the meat sauce (aka make it the same, sans meat) I usually make when I'm not just throwing some extra spices in Classico or whatever's on sale for "weeknight spaghetti", and viola! Marinara!

So, the sauce: (by the way, I never measure, so sorry about that!) About 1/2+ tbsp Olive Oil (decent coating to a mid sized sauce pan) 1/2 of a medium white onion diced 2-3 decent sized cloves of garlic, through a press Saute until onions are clear & your house is filled with that fabulous scent, reduce heat to low & add One can - I'm thinking 16oz? of finely chopped tomatoes - yes, I haven't braved using raw 'maters yet, soon I hope! One small can tomato paste. I seasoned with the following, again sorry, no measurements: Dried Italian seasoning copiously Dried Basil - maybe you'd call it a pinch? Dried & crushed bay leaf - a little more than a pinch Ground Cloves again with the pinch ... maybe all these pinches are close to 1/4 tsp... Black Pepper & Salt (We're out of plain Oregano & Lawry's Garlic Salt, or I can assure you they would have been there!) I put it on the lowest heat my stupid electric stove can manage & just let it get happy for a long time - I think it was 2-3 hours, but I over indulge my sauce sometimes, I admit.  I did taste it about 45 minutes before I served it & it was too sweet so I threw in about a capful of red wine vinegar to cut the sweetness, worked perfectly! On to the balls -  MMM, love me some meaty b... oh, sorry, cooking, right, ummmm....

Meatballs! This was my second attempt at meatballs, and for some reason I refuse to look them up, so who knows what I'm doing wrong, but they tasted pretty right :) In a large mixing bowl I combined: 1/2 cup Plain breadcrumbs 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese ...and yes I actually measured, but to be honest it was all together in a 1 cup measuring cup, and it wasn't exactly half and half -more bread than cheese, so, take that as you will!  And actually, a little less of both would have worked better as some was left out in the final mixing kind of alot of Italian seasoning Fresh ground pepper & fresh ground sea salt (forgot I had those darned things when I made the sauce) Coriander Dried chives 1 egg I was using turkey (my sister in-law is allergic to beef) so I added about a tablespoon of olive oil for fat 1 pound ground turkey Get ready to get dirty - mush it all together with your hands.  As with meatloaf, there is no other way to do it & get it right.  Really dig in and mix together well, I then set the bowl in the fridge to "rest".  As I said, I've never read anything about this process, so not sure that's necessary, but it did allow time for the argument about who was going to use the oven - I mean, um for the bread to cook so it was super fresh when all was done.  My hope was to let the meat & the herbs have time to get to know each other. I heated a fairly decent amount - could have been 1/4 cup, maybe? - of olive oil in a large skillet, preheated the oven to 350, and formed up about 13 golf ball sized meat balls - it's just how it worked out.  Once the oil was good and hot, I set them in the oil to brown, then flipped them over, browned the other side & then covered the pan & threw the whole mess in the oven for about maybe 10 minutes to cook through - did I mention I don't time anything either?  /sigh I suck at this blogging stuff! I removed the meaty goodness from the oven & put it back on a low burner, and poured the entire pan of sauce on top & let them warm-up that way a few minutes.   Whatever you do, remember that the pan just came out of the oven and is fricking HOT!!!  Luckily, no blisters, just a little pride lost with that one... Assembling: I like to cut the meatballs in half, because truly round ones are hard to keep on a roll.  Place a few & a ridiculous amount of sauce on some fabulous bread made by your wonderful husband, cover with Mozzarella (preferably not fat free which is all I had, and if I had had more time I would have added some fresh grated parm &  ramano too) place them open face on a broiler pan & broil until the cheese melts & starts to brown.  This also toasts the bread some & gives you that nice crunchiness. And ta da!  My husband let me in the kitchen AND allowed me on his blog!!  I must have done something right! Enjoy!