Erik's Meatballs "Best Balls in Town!"

Today, hard as this may be to believe, I tried my very first meatball sandwich and it was mighty delicious! Sooo good in fact that I had to ask for the recipe. My friend Erik B. made it and used his Mom's recipe (I did ask his permission if it was ok to share this here btw)...And you know what they say, nothing beats Mom's cooking... ;)




Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. Ground beef
1 lb. Ground pork
3-4 eggs beaten
1 small onion, minced
Handful grated Romano cheese
1 garlic clove, minced
Handful bread crumbs

Water
Olive oil

Mix all ingredients except water and oil. Mixture will have a "meatloaf" consistency, so add some water to the mixture until it almost has a "spread" consistency (Add more breadcrumbs if it breaks apart). Form into 2-3" meatballs.

Heat oil in a skillet. Brown meatballs on both sides and cover to simmer on low for 20-30 minutes until completely brown.

Put in sauce and simmer about 10-15 mins.

Meatball sauce

3 T. Olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
1 can small tomato paste
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 - 3/4 C. Red wine
1 pack fresh basil, chopped
2T sugar
Pinch of oregano or Italian seasoning
28 oz can tomato sauce
28 oz crushed tomatoes
28 oz tomato purée

Sauté onions in oil until transparent or almost brown. Add tomato paste, garlic and red wine. Simmer till wine evaporates and tomato paste caramelizes on the side of the pan. Add in half of the fresh basil, 2T sugar, Italian seasoning. Mix well and simmer for a few minutes more. Add tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, and tomato purée. Simmer for 2 hours. Add water if necessary to thin down sauce. Add remaining basil at the last half hour.
*meatball sauce, could be prepared a day in advance*