Spaghetti Sauce and Meatballs

After a few tries, I've come up with this recipe for spaghetti sauce and meatballs. And no, friend, this ain't your middle school cafeteria's dish. It's fresh, hearty and perfect for an evening in. As a bonus, you can easily make double the meatball recipe, and freeze half of it for later.

Spaghetti Sauce and Meatballs
Meatballs:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg, beaten

Sauce:
3/4 cup chopped onion
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 bay leaf
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, black pepper, garlic powder and beaten egg. Mix well and form into 12 balls. Store, covered, in refrigerator until needed. In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent. Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, sugar and bay leaf. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 90 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, basil, Italian seasoning, black pepper and meatballs and simmer 30 minutes more. Serve with spaghetti.