Grandma Orie's Italian Meatballs and Gravy

Ingredients:

Ground pork, beef, and veal (11 lbs. total)

4 eggs

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 cups Italian flavored breadcrumbs

Pepper

Salt

2 tablespoons of garlic powder

Chopped parsley

Olive oil

1 sliced yellow onion

6 sliced fresh garlic cloves (more if you prefer)

3 cans of whole Italian tomatoes (plum style)

1 small can of tomato paste

Directions:

• Mix everything except the fresh garlic and onions.
• Roll a little meat mixture in your hands into small meatballs. Heat oil in frying pan along with some of the onions and some of the fresh garlic.
• Add the meatballs and cook. Turn the meatballs frequently so as not to burn them but cook them thoroughly. Add more onions and fresh garlic as needed. You can remove some of the burned onion and fresh garlic as you’re cooking the meatballs.
• In the meantime, place a large pot on the stove. Place tomatoes in a blender and blend. Cook tomatoes slowly.
• When all the meatballs are cooked, add them to the gravy. Add a little of the oil or grease from the frying pan and add to the tomatoes.
• Cook on very low for 2-3 hours. Add the tomato paste during the last hour.

Buon apetito!

In an Italian household, Sundays are traditionally set aside for the arduous process of making meatballs and gravy. In my household, the tradition began even before I was a thought in my parents' minds. My grandmother on my father's side arrived in the United States from her home country when she was only a year old. This recipe was her parent's, and probably her grandparent's or great grandparent's before that; through watching my dad every Sunday, I, too, have learned how to make them. Nothing says family more to me than the smell of fresh meatballs on an otherwise lazy Sunday morning.

Submitted by Tess