I use fresh chopped garlic that I saute in olive oil. I use 8 cloves - you have to amount according to how much sauce you are making. Make sure to use San Marzano tomatoes for your sauce. I use several 28 oz.cans, couple of cans of tomato sauce or puree (plain), can or two of tomato paste, a whole peeled onion for flavor I let it sit in the sauce all day.

Also, I use pork and veal for my meatballs - add a little milk to the mix along with parmesean cheese, sm. amount of bread crumbs, egg (1 egg per pound of meat), basil, oregano, garlic powder. I always brown my meatballs in the oven before adding them to the sauce. I make mine a bit bigger than a golf ball, it's all what you and your family like.

Cooks all day. Sorry no formal recipe, but this something I do by rote. You can add things, delete things. Perhaps someone will post a proper ingredient list with amounts, etc.:))).

Mammas Meatballs In Tomato Sauce (Modified)

1/2 Cup chicken broth
1/2 large sweet onion,chopped
4 garlic, chopped
1/2 Bunch parsley, chopped
1 Lb ground beef
1/2 Lb ground pork
1/2 Lb ground veal (See Notes)
1 Cup day old French bread pieces -soaked in milk and then all the milk squeezed out.
2 -3 EGGS,lightly beaten
1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Olive oil for browning meatballs
Tomato sauce for simmering

Place the chicken broth, onion, garlic and parsley in a blender and puree. Set aside.
Place the meat, bread, eggs, grated cheese,salt and pepper
in a large bowl. Add the pured chicken-stock mix. Using your hands, gently but thoroughly combine all ingredients, being careful not to overmix the meat. If you find it too moist a few regular breadcrumbs can be added but be careful this mixture should be quite moist.

Coat your hands with a little olive oil and form the meatballs. Pour oil in a large skillet to a depth of about 1/2 inch and place over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, brown the meatballs, turning once.

Once browned cover in your favourite simple tomato sauce and simmer for an hour or so. I prefer a tomato basil sauce.

NOTE: You can use all beef or a beef pork combo but the three meats gives a nice taste and texture. If using all beef don't use and extra lean, use a medium.

I prefer a very simple sauce with meatballs. I make my own from fresh tomatoes (skinned), garlic, salt, pepper, fresh chopped basil and fresh oregano but here is a very good recipe using canned tomatoes.

Tomato Sauce (Mario Batali)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Spanish or other sweet onion cut into 1/4 inch dice
4 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
3 TBSP fresh thyme
1/2 medium carrot finely shredded (this does add some sweetness and may be omitted)
2 48 oz cand best quality Italian tomatoes
salt

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic cook until soft, DO NOT let brown.

Add the thyme and carrot ans cook until the carrot is soft.

Add the tomatoes and their juice. Bring to a boil , stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. season with salt.

This recipe comes from my grandmother. I don’t know where she got it from but it is at least 130 years old as of 2007 and comes from New Orleans. As usual with old recipes there are no measurements.

Meatballs:
Hamburger
Onions, finely chopped
Bread crumbs
2 or 3 eggs for binder depending on amount of hamburger
Salt and Black Pepper

Mix all and form small, half-dollar, meatballs.

Sauce:
Onions chopped
Bell pepper chopped
Celery chopped
Amount of Onions equal Bell pepper and Celery combined. "The Trinity"
Garlic 2 or more cloves minced
2 Bay leaves
Thyme

Flour 1 Tbl or more to coat vegetables

Tomato sauce, not paste.

Water

Directions:
Saute meatballs in batches and remove. In same pot sauté vegetables. When cooked add flour to coat and cook for a couple of minutes more – don’t burn. Add tomato sauce to develop a rich red color.
Cook down stirring often then add water to half way up pot. When well mixed and cooked add meatballs and continue to cook on slow fire uncovered til done. Stir to prevent sticking.

That’s the recipe – now my tips. The amount of flour is used to make a kind of roux with the fat left from the meatballs so the more fat left the more flour needed to absorb. At this point you need to keep stirring just like making a roux and have the tomato sauce ready to cool it down before it burns. This step only takes a minute or two.

Rich red color is what it says. Cooking down means reducing til the mixture is thickened. As it thickens it will tend to stick. The hotter you cook it the faster it will try to stick and the closer you’ll have to watch it. It is cooked down (reduced, thickened) when bubbles form on the surface and pop. Kind of messy unless you use a ‘splatter cover’, one of those screen wire things that covers a pot.

Add water. A good rule of thumb is to add as much water as tomato sauce. Fill the empty tomato sauce cans with water.

Cooked til done. The longer it cooks the more flavor is transferred between the sauce and the meatballs. That’s why the meatballs are small.

Important! While not mentioned, it was passed down. In the final stage of cooking til done you need to taste to see if enough of the salt and pepper seasoning transferred to the sauce and, if sauce is bitter add a pinch of sugar.

And a final tip: During final stage you can turn it off and let it sit til you’re ready to complete the process. This resting/cooling stage lets the flavors meld as in all Creole cooking – its always better the next day.