From My Mom’s Kitchen: The Best Spaghetti & Meatballs Recipe…EVER!

No discussion of my Mom’s beyond delicious spaghetti and meatball recipe would be complete without talking a little bit about the lovely lady herself!! She is the Mom of 2 daughters and the bonus Mom of 2 more daughters and a son. She is also the wife of a man who is luckier than he knows!! (For 50+ years!) We all adore her! She is also blessed with 10 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren!!! How very lucky we all are to have her. I feel so blessed to still have my Mom at 65. (She is just a tiny bit older than me.😉) In fact, we have very often been mistaken for sisters! I could never quite decide if she looked young or if I looked old! Lol 😂 I think, like so many things in life, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. 😊 What a blessing at 65, to still have a Mom that would do anything for you and who is always there for you!

Not only is my Mom always there for me, she is there for all of us. She is a loving, hardworking and patient caregiver to my Dad who was disabled by a stroke 11 years ago. There are, indeed, angels walking amongst us and she is one of them. She enthusiastically helps with childcare for her Greats every chance she gets, in fact , she took care of 2 of them fulltime for a couple of years while her granddaughter worked. She would take care of and help with any of them at any time without hesitation. She would rearrange her entire day if one of her 5 kids, 10 grandchildren or 9 greatgrandchildren needed her. That kind of steady devotion isn’t loud but boy is it powerful! It has shaped all of us more than we could possibly imagine. Thank You Mom!!!💗

NOW….about those spaghetti & meatballs. To say they are yummy is an understatement!!! It is my all time favorite meal. Mom has made it since I was a child and it has always been #1 in my book! In fact, if I was ever very bad and had to choose my last meal…this would be it! 😮 I have been making this recipe myself for quite a few years as well, but somehow it tastes so much better when she makes it! I am going to share the recipe by posting pictures of my very old, much used, much loved, sauce stained recipe card. It just seems right. 💗

When I make this recipe, I soak my breadcrumbs for the meatballs in milk. This makes the meatballs perfectly tender. This is the only deviation I make, because, well, this recipe is simply perfect the way it is! Make sure you let it simmer as long as you can. I like to put it together in the morning so it can slowly simmer and develop all the delicious flavors for most of the day before we enjoy an incredible dinner! In fact, check out my meat ball video on my YouTube Channel. Kyla, Apparently 65 Going On 28. You could even subscribe to my channel to show me a little love. 😊

There is something sacred about a stained, wrinkled recipe card. The one I shared in this post-the one splattered with sauce-isn’t just instructions. It’s evidence. Evidence of Sunday dinners, it’s evidence of a woman who loved, cared for and fed her family. The thing about family recipes, they are never just about food. They are about continuity, they are about tradition and they are about legacy. When we make this recipe, without even realizing it, we are carrying Mom forward. One meatball at a time.

Oh! And Don’t Forget The Garlic Bread!!