Pasta and Pizza

Steak and Seafood title card for pasta and pizza recipes, photos coming soon

These Italian-American family favorites come from the recipe book of Sandra Mills. They start with her Simple Sauce for Pasta, which she makes in big batches and freezes, and her tender Italian Meat Balls made with grated raw potato.

From there: an easy lasagna, Susan's Home-Made Manicotti with delicate crepes, Sandy's own Eggplant Parmesan, a quick food-processor pesto, a no-yeast Stir-N-Roll Pizza and a slow-rise Home-Made Pizza with a three-cheese topping.

8 pasta and pizza

  • Simple Sauce for Pasta2 hr 15 min total | About 2 quarts

    A big-batch pasta sauce: jarred spaghetti sauce slowly simmered for two hours with bacon and onions softened in the bacon fat. Freezes beautifully.

  • Italian Meat Balls1 hr 50 min total | About 18 meatballs

    Tender Italian meatballs of ground beef with grated raw potato, egg, Parmesan and oregano, oven-baked on racks and then simmered in sauce for an hour.

  • Susan's Home-Made Manicotti1 hr 10 min total

    Manicotti made with thin homemade crepes rolled around a ricotta, egg and Parmesan filling, topped with mozzarella and sauce and baked.

  • Sandy's Eggplant Parmesan1 hr 15 min total | 1 (13 x 9-inch) pan

    Sandra's own eggplant Parmesan: thin eggplant slices double-dipped in egg and flour, fried until puffed, then layered with sauce, mozzarella and Romano and baked.

  • Lasagna55 min total | 1 (13 x 9-inch) pan

    An easy lasagna layered with spaghetti sauce, lasagna noodles and dabs of ricotta or cottage cheese and mozzarella, topped with Parmesan. Add browned hamburg for meat lasagna.

  • Pesto Sauce with Pasta22 min total

    Quick food-processor pesto of fresh basil, olive oil, pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic and salt, tossed with pasta and served hot or cold.

  • Stir-N-Roll Pizza45 min total | 2 (13-inch) pizzas

    Two quick pizzas on a no-yeast stir-and-roll dough of flour, baking powder, milk and oil, topped with tomato sauce, onion, oregano, Parmesan and mozzarella.

  • Home-Made Pizza5 hr 14 min total | 2 (14-inch) pizzas

    A slow-rise yeast dough for two 14-inch pizzas, topped with plum tomatoes, a mix of mozzarella, sharp Cheddar and Swiss, herbs and your choice of toppings, baked at 450°F.

Common questions

Can I freeze pasta sauce and meatballs?
Yes. Sandra freezes both, the sauce in saved glass jars and the meatballs right in the sauce.
What is the difference between the two pizza doughs?
Stir-N-Roll uses baking powder and is ready in minutes; Home-Made Pizza is a yeast dough with a long rise for more flavor and chew.
Why grate a raw potato into meatballs?
It keeps the meatballs moist and tender, much like soaked bread does.

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