Call it what you want…

Turkey Meatballs

I love it! No matter what you call it. Sauce or gravy? In my family we call red sauce, sauce. We call brown sauce that goes over meat, gravy. If I cook meat in the sauce all day and it’s really thick I consider it more like a gravy.

But no matter what, if you are cooking it, I’m happy. And making it is so simple and healthy depending on what you pair it with. This recipe is for a simple marinara sauce. Sometimes I add onion, red wine, meat, roasted eggplant, etc…

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Marinara Sauce

Servings: 4
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Ingredients

EVOO
garlic (12 cloves chopped)
a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
3 cans of whole peeled tomatoes(Tuttorroso is great because the cans say non-BPA and non-GMO. Most of the time I’ll try and get San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes or I’ll even use cans of crushed tomatoes and keep it simple!)
1/4 teaspoon of crushed black pepper
3 heaping spoonfuls of pecorino Romano cheese
A handful of fresh chopped Italian parsley(or basil or both!)

Directions

In a large sauce pan saute garlic and crushed red pepper flakes in EVOO. (You can add onion if you want. That’s the great part about sauce. It tastes delicious many ways. This is when everyone comes in the kitchen to see what I’m making. Smells so good.)
Add 3 cans of whole peeled tomatoes. Blend with an immersion blender (one of the greatest inventions ever!) to chop all the tomatoes. Keep it on a simmer so it doesn’t burn.
Add about the crushed black pepper. (My mom adds salt, but uses less cheese. I don’t add salt, but put in extra cheese!)
Stir in the grated cheese. (My mom buys nothing other than Pecorino Romano. I sway from that. Sometimes I buy the blend or sometimes just Parmesan. Always from the refrigerated section!! That’s a must. I don’t even think the cheese in the un-refrigerated section is even cheese. A big thing to look out for is any grated or crumbled cheese with cellulose aka wood pulp in it. Sometimes it’s hard to find cheese without it. I don’t know much about cellulose, but I don’t want my family to eat it. That’s for sure… Today they didn’t have grated cheese without cellulose, so I bought the block of cheese and grated it myself.)
Add the parsley/basil.

That is it! Simmer for about 20 minutes. Pair with your favorite pasta. Tonight I added turkey meatballs to the sauce and served with whole grain linguine. My picky eater Matthew likes healthier foods and this is his favorite meal! I prefer regular meatballs, but I will get into that discussion another day. Enjoy!

Other recipes you will love…

Meat Sauce

Ravioli with Crushed Tomato Sauce

Momma’s Meatballs