Roasted Tomato, Onion, and Garlic Spaghetti

I'm usually on a Mexican food kick, but lately, I've been making all sorts of pasta. Every time I ask my husband if he has any requests for dinner, he says "Spaghetti and Meatballs." He loves the stuff! I do, too. I have a few fantastic recipes for spaghetti and meatballs, but I still keep looking for another recipe. I stumbled across this recipe on a food blog that I follow: fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com. This lady has some amazing recipes. I know I have "perfect spaghetti and meatballs" on here, but if you try this one, you won't be disappointed. It's wonderful!

Roasted Tomato, Onion, and Garlic Spaghetti:
source: http://www.fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com

5-6 tomatoes
1/2 sweet yellow onion, quartered
5-6 cloves of garlic
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
Pinch of crushed red pepper (or more)
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste

1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 tsp sugar (optional)
Dried basil, to taste
Dried oregano, to taste
4-5 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Parmesan cheese
Spaghetti noodles

Meatballs:
1 lb lean ground beef
1/4 onion, diced finely
1/4 cup of Italian style breadcrumbs
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 egg
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and place aluminum foil on a cookie sheet.

Prepare the tomatoes but making a very slight X in the bottom of them. No, you aren't going to find any buried treasure in there, but you will be able to peel them, which in and of itself, is kinda like a treasure.

Boil water in a medium saucepan. Add the tomatoes and boil for only 10-15 seconds.

Take them out with a slotted spoon and place them in a bowl of ice water.
Once the tomatoes have cooled, take them out and peel the skin off. It's so cool how the skin comes right off! I'd never done it before, so I was like a little kid watching a fireworks display or something.
Once the skin is peeled off, slice the tomatoes in half. Place the garlic cloves in the sides of the tomatoes to prevent them from getting burnt in the oven. If your smoke detector is anything like mine, the whole darn neighborhood knows when I'm roasting anything. Place the tomatoes and onions on the foil-lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle with the herbs and salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil.
Roast the vegetables for 30-40 minutes.
See that burnt juicy stuff in the lower right hand corner of the picture? Yeah... that set off my smoke detector. I'm sure my neighbors think either I'm a really terrible cook or a pyro. Place all the roasted goodness in a blender.
Blend it up!
Put the roasted tomato mixture in a dutch oven. Put the can of whole tomatoes in the blender and mix it until it's only slightly chunky. Add it to the roasted tomatoes. Add some dried herb if you'd like to season it. I added some parsley, basil, oregano, brown sugar, and salt and pepper. Oh- you can't forget the red pepper flakes. It will revolutionize your spaghetti sauce. Cover it and simmer for 3-4 hours- stirring occasionally.
Combine all of the meatball ingredients. Mix it together. Form it into meatball-sized meatballs. :) I always bake my meatballs. I find that they are always more evenly cooked that way. I bake them in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes.
When they are done, add them to the sauce. Don't forget to add the fresh basil and parsley right before serving. Serve over spaghetti noodles, tortellini, or whatever other kind of pasta you fancy. Garnish with fresh parsley or basil and shaved Parmesan cheese.
I'm telling you! There is no reason to go out and get spaghetti and meatballs at an overpriced Italian restaurant when there are recipes like this floating around the internet. Way better than any Italian restaurant!