Part 2 of 5 of my $13.00 a day dinner plan, Spaghetti and Meatballs

Nothing says cooking on a budget like Spaghetti and Meatballs. Big semi round hunks of pure joy, with a store bought red sauce. That's right I didn't make the red sauce (tomato sauce) from scratch. No simmering over a low heat for 1 hour stirring the sauce with love and coaxing all the goodness from oven charred pork bones. Nope, two cans plus one can of diced tomatoes from yesterday that I didn't use. But I was able to use fresh basil from my garden, and the three meat combination to provide a luxurious and velvety texture. Oh well continuing to uphold my blogs creed to helping out the budget cooking chef in all of us I will solider on and put forth my best effort.


2 (26.5 oz) cans of Hunts tomato sauce(I used regular and garlic herb)
1 (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup broth
1 Tablespoon butter
1 medium onion
4 clove of garlic minced
1/4 cup of parsley
1/4 cup of basil
I Tbsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp bread crumbs
2 eggs
3 slice of bread
1/4 cup milk
1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground turkey sausage
1 lb ground beef(80/20)
2 lb cooked spaghetti(according to manufacturers instructions)
I loaf of French bread
Parmesan cheese for sprinkling

Heat a large skillet or casserole over medium heat, add the two cans of tomato sauce and diced tomatoes to the skillet. Allow the sauce to come up to temperature and then turn the heat to low to produce a gentle simmer. Add Worcestershire, broth and butter and continue to simmer on low. In a food processor combine onion through sea salt in a food processor and process until smooth. If it is still too thick add water to get it moving, taste and adjust the seasoning. It will be salty but you are mixing this into three pounds meat, add more garlic or basil if necessary. Crack the eggs in a bowl and then add to the processor along with the bread and milk. The mixture should be thick not to soupy or loose. Add all the meat into a large mixing bowl, add half the herb and egg mixture to the meat and combine slowly and gently. Over mixing can make dense and heavy meatballs. Add more of the herb egg mixture as needed it should wet but firm mix, if it is too loose(wet) add more bread crumb if it is too dry add more oil or broth. I used an ice cream scoop to make my meatballs, but you can just wet your hands and form meatballs to the size of a golf ball. Heat oil in another large saucepan about over medium heat, start adding the meatballs to the pan and begin sautéing for about six minutes per side turning to fry evenly. Cook the meatballs in small batches; adjust the heat to prevent over browning. Reserve the meatballs to a sheet pan. When done browning place all the meatballs in the tomato sauce and cook for 30 minutes on a low simmer. To serve add some sauce the bottom of the bowl, top with spaghetti more sauce and 2-3 meatballs. Sprinkle with cheese and serve with bread. Another budget cooking chef moment, pasta is always a winner when you are cooking on a budget and most of the time you can freeze some of the sauce and serve it at a later time. This entire meal was put together for $12.86 for seven people that is $1.84 per plate.