Homemade Tomato Sauce and Turkey Meatballs

Today is our 1 month wedding anniversary!! I decided to use some homemade tomato sauce that I had made last week from a tomato surplus and turkey meatballs from scratch- one of the first real meals I ever made for my husband a couple of years ago and still a definite go to in our house, to make a weeknight anniversary dinner- romantic but quick to put together!

Homemade Tomato Sauce (adapted from allrecipes.com and their Homemade Tomato Sauce I)

Ingredients:

Ripe tomatoes- I used about 8 large tomatoes of various types and 10 cherry tomatoes because that was what I had on hand. The original recipe called for 10 tomatoes.
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
4 teaspoons jarred minced garlic (about 4 cloves of fresh garlic if you have it)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup Burgundy cooking wine
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
2 stalks celery
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon parsley

Directions:

1) Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Also have a large bowl ice water nearby. Cut a superficial 'X' in the bottom of each tomato with a sharp knife.

2) Place tomatoes in boiling water for 1 minute (30 seconds for the cherry tomatoes). Remove with a slotted spoon and place in ice bath. Once cool, peel tomatoes, roughly chop and purée in blender. Pour into mesh strainer over a large bowl to stain out seeds.

3) While tomatoes strain, heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil and butter, once melted add onion, bell pepper, carrot and garlic. Cook 5 minutes, until onion starts to soften.

4) Pour in puréed tomatoes.  Stir in basil, Italian seasoning and wine. Place bay leaf and whole celery stalks in pot.

5) Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours.

6) Stir in tomato paste, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme and parsley. Simmer 2 additional hours, uncovered.

7) Discard bay leaf and celery stalks.

*My sauce was rather chunky at this point because I did a rough chop on my veggies, so I poured the completed sauce back into the blender and puréed it again- came out perfect!
**For dinner tonight, I reheated the sauce, and added 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper just to spice it back up a bit and it came out great- rave reviews from my husband!!

Turkey Meatballs (adapted from Ground Turkey Meatballs recipe on Cooks.com)

Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey ( I always use Shady Brook Farms and throw in a package so between 1-1.2 pounds usually, I have used both 99% lean and 93% lean and the 93% meatballs definitely come out more moist, but it depends on my mood and any sales going on!)
1/4 cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese (I've done both but prefer grated)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions: 

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. 

2) Mix all ingredients together with hands and shape into 2 inch meatballs. 

3) Bake for 15-20 minutes. 

*This recipe typically makes about 15-18 meatballs