A one pot dinner for vegetarians AND meat eaters

OK. So that's probably a bit of a stretch. Sure, it's one pot. But you also need a mixing bowl and a baking sheet.

But still, it's actually easy to make spaghetti for every palate by making the sauce and the meatballs separately, bringing them together just before serving for the meat eaters.

First things first: the sauce
3 26-oz. cans tomatoes (one diced, two crushed)
1/2 head of garlic -- peeled, cloves separated and each cut in half
1/2 container fresh basil
1/2 container fresh oregano
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt to taste.
NOTE: I usually double the recipe. I can get six to seven meals from a double recipe and freeze all but one in individual containers for later.
Put everything in a big pot and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until there is no oil sitting on top and the color turns to deep red, at least two hours. Fish out herbs and garlic.
NUTRITION: 1/2 cup sauce has 50 calories.


The meatballs:
3-4 slices bread, crusts removed
Milk
2 lbs. ground meat (ground beef, or a combination of beef, pork and/or veal)
1 large egg
1/2 cup Parm. cheese
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
Soak bread in milk. Squeeze to remove excess milk. Mix together bread, meat, egg, cheese, oil and garlic. Knead well to combine. Roll into meatballs. Heat oven to 350 F. Bake meatballs until cooked through. Drain meatballs on brown paper or newsprint.
Spread meatballs out on a baking sheet so that they are not touching and freeze at least 2 hours. Remove from baking sheet and put in a gallon-size bag. When ready to eat, defrost the needed number of meatballs.

To make this meat-free, I serve just the sauce over pasta (sprinkled with Parm cheese, optional). To make it for the meat eaters I heat the meatballs, put them on top of the pasta and top with sauce (and cheese).