This past weekend we were invited to a potluck dinner. I live out in the country in a beautiful valley. The potluck was for all the people that live in the valley. My neighbor is an elderly gentleman and was the person that set this potluck up. I have lived in this valley for 15 years and find it funny that I have been driving past the same houses for these past 15 years, but I really didn’t know too many of the people that came to this event.
I wanted to make something simple that I thought people would enjoy. Something that was easy to transport, something that I could put in my crock-pot. When I ran across this Italian Meatball Subs at the Taste of Homes site, the meatballs and the sauce sounded so wonderful I decided to add pasta to it instead of making them into a sub. The meatballs are cooked under the broiler, this was so simple. I will be making meatballs like this more often; it was super fast and less messy than frying them on top of the stove.
I would suggest this recipe if you are looking for a simple crock-pot recipe for meatballs and sauce. You can add pasta to it or if you like you could use the meatballs and sauce to make the subs, I think they would be amazing. Don’t you just love when you run across a simple and delicious dish? It does make life a little bit simpler. Enjoy!
Italian Meatballs And Sauce With Pasta (Adapted from Taste Of Home)
Ingredients:
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 pounds ground beef
1 1/2 pounds bulk Italian sausage
Sauce:
5 cups fresh tomatoes skinned and chopped
1 can (12 ounces) tomato paste
1 medium onion
1 cup chopped green peppers
1/2 cup dried red wine (If you prefer you can use beef broth)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Your favorite pasta
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine egg and milk; add the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add beef and sausage; mix well. Shape into 1-inch balls. Broil 4 inches from the heat for 4 minutes; turn and broil 3 more minutes.
Transfer to a 5 or 6-quart crock-pot. Add tomatoes, green peppers, and onion to a blender, blend until smooth. (If you prefer and want a chunkier sauce chop these 3 ingredients). Combine the remaining ingredients and mix well; pour over meatballs. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours. Cook pasta according to directions and add before serving or if you prefer the subs, serve on rolls.
Cooks notes: This is a double recipe, if you prefer you can cut it in half.
This sounds delicious and easy! We have pot luck dinners with different school arrangements of our boys – everybody loves meatballs and pasta, so I’ll prepare this next time – thank you 🙂
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a recipe for broiled meatballs before – great idea. And cooking them in the crock-pot makes them so easy! Who can resist meatballs and pasta? I sure can’t! Good stuff – thanks.
Oh my goodness, this looks divine! Can you believe I have never made meatballs before? I need to do that soon!
Yum! I don’t think you can ever go wrong with pasta. A great meatball is the icing on the cake! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
My kind of comfort food – yum!