Favourite Rosemary Meatballs and Cheat's Pasta

Ever since I tried ready-made pasta sauces (only the tomato-based ones), I find that they are extremely convenient, taste pretty good, and if not, you can always enhance it with fresh herbs or extra seasoning. The big plus is that you save the trouble of having tomato sauce splattered all over the stove, benchtop, floor and walls.

I usually buy Leggo's or Barilla tomato-based sauces and use them in bolognese, lasagna or meatball pastas. I looooooove meatballs and pasta, especially these ones that I've made here. So moist, juicy, tender and flavoursome, these meatballs can be addictive! Yum yum....

Rosemary Meatballs and Cheat's Pasta

Ingredients

For Meatballs:

500g beef mince (preferably not too lean)

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tbsp chopped rosemary

1 tsp chopped thyme

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1/3 cup store-bought golden breadcrumbs

2/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs (from 1 slice of day-old bread)

2 tbsp milk

1 egg

1 tsp worchestershire sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

1/4 tsp black pepper

For pasta:

400g spaghetti/penne

1 jar of instant tomato-based pasta sauce

200g button mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup water

Method

1. Combine all ingredients for the meatballs (except beef mince) and let it sit for 2 minutes for the breadcrumbs to soak up the milk. Then add beef mince and mix well using your hands. Leave in fridge to marinade for 2 hours or so.
2. Heat up 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan. Shape the beef mince mixture into rounds and place them in the pan (or you can shape them all first before heating up the oil). Brown them all over, ensuring they have formed a slight crust around them. Then toss in the pasta sauce with 1/2 cup water and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Check for seasoning (sugar, pepper) and add any extra herbs (basil, parsley etc) if desired. In the meantime, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente.
3. After the sauce has simmered and the meatballs have absorbed the flavours, add mushrooms and continue to simmer until done. Add more water if necessary. Place pasta on a serving plate and ladle the meatballs and sauce over it. Serve with grated parmesan.