Special Meatball Pasta

Lovely Claire's Note:

This is my personal special meatball spaghetti recipe that I came up with after being extremely dissatisfied with the meatball pasta served in my favorite pizza resaurants.This recipe has a lot of veggies in the meatball so it is also very nutritious.You can make it sweet and spicy or not, but with this recipe, you can never go wrong...

• Total Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 45 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

For the Meatballs

• 1/2 kg ground beef round
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 medium white onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
• 10 green beans, finely chopped
• spring onion, finely chopped
• 1 whole egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 -3 tablespoons cornstarch
• oil (for frying)

For the Pasta

• 450 g pasta (preferably spaghetti or angel hair)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil or 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
• 4 -5 tomatoes, boiled and seeded
• 2 green bell peppers, minced
• 300 g button mushrooms, chopped
• 5 hot dogs, sliced diagonally
• 800 g tomato sauce
• 200 g tomato paste
• 160 ml condensed milk
• 1 knorr beef bouillon cube
• 300 g grated cheese
• salt & pepper
• mixed herbs
• 1 -2 cup water

Directions:

1. For the Meatballs:Mix all the ingredients thoroughly until you are able to form balls.
2. Deep fry meatballs in canola oil & drain well on paper towels, set aside. ( you can test for saltiness or general taste by frying a small meatball & adjusting recipe to your taste accordingly).
3. For the Pasta Sauce:In a saucepan, saute garlic & onions in oil, add tomatoes & cover for 4-5 minutes.
4. Add the mushrooms & bell peppers (with 1-minute intervals in between) -- add hotdogs.Keep the sauce covered for 3 minutes.
5. Pour in the tomato sauce. Simmer covered for 5 minutes, add the tomato paste & simmer for another 5 minutes.
6. Drop in the beef cube, once beef cube is dissolved, add the meatballs; once mixture starts to boil -- add the condensed milk, grated cheese, salt & pepper, as well as the mixed herbs (preferably oregano, paprika, etc.).Season accordingly. You may add hot sauce to perk up the taste of the sauce if you desire. Use the water to adjust thickness or consistency of sauce.Make sure that after the initial boil that you keep the fire low and keep the sauce simmering for 10 minutes or so. This will help your sauce keep for days in the refrigerator. If you want to set some sauce aside for later use, make sure that the sauce is at room temperature before placing in a plastic container, & then place it in the freezer. This way, the sauce will keep for a month or so.
7. Just cook pasta according to package instructions. Pour sauce mixture over pasta & sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Enjoy with your favorite wheat bread with tuna or chicken filling.