Recipe(tried): Chiqui's Meatballs and Sunday Gravy

Here's my recipe that everybody always enjoys:

NOTE: This recipe can easily be cut in half...but this is the amount I make at one time...I like to stock my freezer!!

Chiqui's Sunday Gravy

*2 large yellow onions, chopped
*1 whole head garlic, finely minced
* Olive oil
*3-4 lb. boneless pork roast, plugged with lots of slivers of garlic (for me, the more garlic, the better!!)
*1 stick unsalted butter
*1 recipe of Chiqui's meatballs (recipe to follow)
*1 3lb. boneless chuck roast
*3 lbs. boneless chicken thighs
*2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts
*1 lb. good quality Italian Sausage (my family prefers the mild, but hot is ok, too)
*4-6 cups Hearty Burgundy Wine or a good Chianti
*1 gallon can crushed Plum tomatoes
*1 gallon can good quality tomato sauce
*1 1/2 tabsp. dried Oregano
*1 tabsp. dried Rosemary
*3 handfulls of fresh basil leaves or if fresh is not available, use 3 tabsp. dried basil
*2 teasp. salt
*2 teasp. lemon-pepper
*3 bay leaves
*2 heaping tabsp. chicken soup base
*1/2 bunch Italian parsley, minced

*3 tabsp. granulated sugar......if the tomatoes are very acidic and the onions are not naturally sweet enough, I add the sugar because my children love a sweet-like gravy........but I do taste the sauce first without the sugar before I add it, and it determines how much I add!!
*4 cups water to rinse out the tomato cans and then add to the gravy.
*2 pounds thickly sliced mushrooms

Heat the olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of your large pot) and saute the onion and garlic until softened, but not browned. Season the pork roast with a little salt and lemon pepper and brown on all sides in the pot with the onions/garlic. Add the wine, the stick of butter and the tomatoes and sauce and the water. Stir well and add all remaining seasonings and spices including the chic. soup base, but NOT the parsley and mushrooms; these go in last!!

Simmer on med-low flame for 2 hours stirring every 20 min. Remove Pork roast. Season the Beef Chuck roast with both salt and lemon pepper and brown well in a skillet with a little olive oil. Add this to the gravy and simmer another two hours. Remove the beef roast. Add the oven-browned meatballs, the raw chicken that has been cut into very large chunks, and the Italian sausages. Cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring often. Skim the gravy for any fat that may be floating on top. Add the mushrooms and parsley. Taste and correct seasoning for sweetness and salt. Correct seasoning and simmer for about 30 min. more.

Of course, ya know, Sugah..you will nedd a huge pot to cook this in....and as the meats are cooked, remove them from the pot so that they do not over cook. Divide them equally in freezer containers and top with sauce. Any leftovers make a great topping for homemade pizzas!!!!!! Just add Mozarella cheese and pop into the oven.....all the mushrooms and meats are in the sauce!!

Can't say how much this yields..but it is plenty!! And should fill your freezer for quite sometime. Actually, the longer it sits in the freezer...the better the flavor is.......?????? My family just loves this..I serve it mostly over angel hair pasta cause that is what they like, but Penne is good, too!! Enjoy

Chiqui's Meatballs

1 lb. ground chuck
1 lb. ground veal
1/2 lb. lean ground pork ( will still have enough fat in it with it being lean pork)
1/2 med. onion, finely chopped
salt and lemon-pepper to taste
4 tabsp. chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup Parmesan, or Romano cheese
4 slices white sandwich bread,(do not remove crusts) made into soft crumbs by pulsing in processor
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup plain milk
garlic to taste (at least 2 cloves, finely minced)
1 teasp. dried basil
pinch oregano

I like to soak the soft breadcrumbs in the milk and beaten eggs first. Then I add it along with all the rest of the ingredients and gently mix...Overmixing will make them tough. I then use a nice sized Ice cream scoop to shape the meatballs. My sister likes to roll them in a little flour and then in a little olive oil before placing in an iron skillet or Corningware roaster. Sometimes I do the rolling in the flour and sometimes I don't bother , but I must say it kind of seals the meatballs to help form the outer crust Mire was speaking of. We're not talkin' a heap of flour here, honey...just a light dusting...then brush with the olive oil. I usually have them kind of snug, but not mashing each other.

Roast in a 400-425* oven until nicely browned....an iron skillet is perfect for this especially if you bring it up to heat on the stove before transferring to the oven to roast. It really retains the heat very well causing the meatballs to brown well on all sides without turning.
And by all means, sugar...pour all those wonderful pan drippings into the gravy....that should already have been simmering gently on the back burner for about an hour now....