• To begin, gather all your ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table. I like to use small prep bowls when I have so many ingredients that I'm working with, to keep everything straight in my head.

Prepare the Ingredients

• Using a Chef's knife and cutting board, dice the sweet onion. Peel and mince the garlic. If desired, slice and chop the mushrooms.
• Grate the fresh parmesan cheese with a fine-edge grater.
• If using fresh herbs, chop the fresh parsley and basil.
• Place whole or diced tomatoes in a large bowl and crush them with your hands until there are no longer any large pieces. (My grandchildren love to help with this part.)

Make the Sauce

• In a large saucepan, sauté the prepared sweet onions, garlic, and mushrooms in butter and olive oil until tender.
• Add in crushed tomatoes, granulated sugar, bay leaf, dried parsley, basil, and oregano.
• Next add in the dry red wine, Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Stir together to combine. Bring the sauce to a boil, and then cover and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer for 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Toward the end of the cooking time, I sometimes use an immersion blender in the sauce to create a smooth sauce. Be sure to remove the bay leaf before blending.

Make the Meatballs

• Preheat oven to 375℉. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, ground pork sausage, Italian-seasoned bread crumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, large egg, dried minced onion, and Italian herb seasoning. Mix well.

  (I usually start out with a wooden spoon and then move to mixing it all together with my hands. Again, kids love this part, so be sure to involve them in this part!)
• Roll the mixture into balls about the size of a tennis balls or baseballs. A muffin scoop works well for this measurement. I can usually get around 10-12 meatballs from this recipe.
• Place meatballs in a baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake uncovered in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes until done.
• Carefully spoon the meatballs into the red sauce and allow to simmer for 30 minutes together to infuse the flavors. Be sure to include the oils and fond for added flavor.
• While the sauce finishes, prepare your favorite dried spaghetti according to package instructions or double my Homemade Pasta Recipe Here.

To Serve

• When ready to serve, transfer meatballs to a plate or bowl. Using a pasta fork, remove the pasta from the water and into the sauce. Carefully mix together until the pasta is coated with sauce.
• At this point, you may opt to serve family-style in one big bowl, or in separate bowls (one for the pasta and one for the meatballs), or on individual plates.
• Serve meatballs over the spaghetti sauce and pasta and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and fresh parsley or basil. Serves 8-10.