spaghetti and meatballs

Since tomatoes, zuccini, garlic and onions are plentiful and I got a spaghetti squash in my CSA I decided to make spaghetti with meatballs.

For the spaghetti sauce....
I peeled and chopped approx 12 tomatoes.  I added these to a pan with olive oil.  I also added 1 onion, 1 head of garlic, 1 zuccini, and a mild pepper (I think that is it).  I simmered on low for about 2 hours, and added salt for flavor.  Food processsed, but left it a little chunky and put it in the slow cooker.

For the meatballs ....
mix 1 lb ground beef, 1/3 c bread crumbs, 1 T Italian seasoning and 1 egg.  Form meatballs with an ice cream scoop (makes approx 8).  Bake at 3:50 for 15 min, flip and bake for another 5 minutes.  I added the meatballs to the crock pot to simmer in the sauce.

For the pasta....
This time I used spaghetti squash so I baked it and then added at the end.  If I am using whole wheat pasta I add to the slow cooker, this healps with the texture of the pasta.  Add white pasta or quinoa pasta at the end since this can et soggy.