There is something about tomato sauce that I just adore. I think it’s partially how versatile it is. Tomato sauce can take on so many different forms- from rustic with big chunks of tomato and simple seasonings, to much more involved creations blending smoother textures, different types of alcohol, spices, and herbs. Making tomato sauce from scratch is purely therapeutic for the simple fact that it allows your creativity to flow and explore.
Sunday morning I had made a nice breakfast for John and I, including the all wonderful ingredient of bacon that we all know and love, and I had a good chunk of

the package left over. What to do with half a package of bacon? There are many, many ways to answer that question but I decided to brown three slices, cut into small pieces, and have that be the base of my tomato sauce.
I am a big believer in baking bacon. Its easier, cleaner, and faster-place your strips on a baking sheet lined with tinfoil for easy clean up, pop them into a 400 degree pre heated oven, and let ‘em cook for about 10 minutes (depending on

While the bacon grease was working its magic in the oven, I had it working up on the stove as well. Once the small pieces had started released a fair amount of juice in the bottom of my stock pot, I started to add chopped garlic and chopped onion to the mix. As those started to turn translucent, I added fresh ground black pepper, and a

About an hour or two later (time flies when you’re playing the Wii), after stirring the pot at varying times, I pulled out my trusty immersion blender, and pureed the tomato sauce into a smooth, fragrant, wonderful pot of deliciousness. I have to say-I was completely amazed by the work of the blender. Past uses have been a bit frustrating- but Sunday afternoon-it was a dream! I put the pot of soup back over very low heat, and began work on the meat balls.


baking meatballs is that they tend to dispense a lot of the grease that they have from the meat, and they don’t absorb any more as they would in pan frying. Additionally-they are much more hands off. 20 minutes later or so, I removed some very nicely browned meatballs from the oven and placed them into the sauce pot to further mingle the flavors.

What a wonderful, hearty and comforting meal on such a cold night! The sauce had great flavor and body to it. The smokiness from the bacon didn’t overpower the other flavors, but more maintained a nice background to the dish. There was a slight kick to it from the red pepper flakes, the herbs kept their unique flavors, and even the pepper was present. The meatballs were also quite tasty-they added nice texture to the dish, and while they maintained the delicious flavors of the sauce, they also added their own with the great combination of beef and pork, along with their smattering of Parmesan cheese. This brought me right back to my mother’s kitchen on cold winter nights- the perfect place to warm up.

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