Meatballs and Squash Spaghetti Sauce

I must confess, I'm not always the best at getting a food photograph together.  Take the meatballs from this post.  It would look so much better on a plate, carefully arranged, better lighting, etc.  Unfortunately when it was done I was quickly trying to serve it because we were pretty hungry.  So we have a picture of the leftovers instead.  Mind you, I'm really looking forward to these leftovers!

The main part of the recipe will be the meatballs themselves.  The sauce you use is flexible, but I figured I would post it anyway.  Yes, I also realize that isn't technically spaghetti pasta; I used what we had.  It worked.

As a side note on the meatballs, I may try cooking them in the oven next time.  It would remove the element of having the meat fats to use for sauteing the squash, but it would make it easier to prepare everything at once without the meatballs getting cold.

Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb ground turkey
• 1/2 lb hot pork sausage (I used a hot breakfast sausage, but hot Italian would work too)
• 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp garlic herb blend (either Mrs. Dash or Kitchen Secrets)
• 2 tsp ground pepper
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl either with clean hands or by fork until very well combined.  Scrape sides and bottom to ensure the breadcrumbs are fully incorporated into the meat mixture.  Make sure that the two meats are well mixed so you don't have large clumps of a certain meat type in a single meat ball. 
2. Warm about 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan using medium low heat.
3. Form the meat into balls either by hand or using a 4" ice cream scoop.  Using the scoop should mean you have around 8 meatballs total.
4. Cook the meatballs in the pan until all the pink is gone.  You may want to turn the heat up to medium, but I would advise against going much higher as you want to cook them all the way through without burning the outside.
5. Move meatballs from the pan to a plate. Do not drain all of the fat out of the pan as we're going to make...

Squash Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of sliced squash - I recommend using different types of squash to add an interesting flavor.  I used One Ball squash and Mediterranean squash  
• 2 8oz cans of unsalted all natural tomato sauce
• 1 6oz can of tomato paste
• Sea salt to taste
• 2 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp Kitchen Secrets Greek Seasoning (optional)
• 1 tbsp Garlic Herb Blend (Mrs. Dash or Kitchen Secrets)
• 3 tsp crushed red pepper
• 2 tsp Sriracha "Rooster" sauce
• 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives
• The meat fat from previously

Directions:

1. Saute the sliced squash over medium heat in the fat from the meatballs.  Add the olives when the squash starts to become tender.
2. Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste, and stir well to ensure the consistency is even throughout the sauce.
3. Add the seasonings and sriracha sace. Mix well and simmer until sauce is bubbly and hot.
4. Serve over pasta of your choice with the meatballs.

Serves 4 (two meatballs per plate).