Meatballs with Marinara Sauce

I felt a bit more ambitious the other day, and not only made my mom's meatballs and a delicious marinara sauce;  I pushed it further and made my own pasta.  However, I will not publish the recipe for pasta yet because I feel like I need to tweak it a bit more.  The pasta was good and definitely edible. :)  I just want to make it even better.

These meatballs are a nice treat and they remind me a lot of my childhood.  My mom would make them as often as she could.  She would make them flat, like a mini burger patty.  They would go perfect on sandwiches.  And we almost always ate them with yellow mustard.  Once in a while she would make a tomato sauce and we would eat that without pasta; we would simply dip pieces of bread in it.  YUM!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
For the meatballs:
-1 lb ground pork
-1 lb extra lean ground beef
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp pepper
-1-2 Tbs dried parsley leaves
-3 cloves garlic, pressed
-1 small onion, finely diced
-1 egg
-1 slice bread (stale is better)
-1/4 tsp baking soda
-1 Tbs water
For the sauce:
-1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1 small onion, chopped
-1/2 cup chicken broth
-3 ( 15 oz each) cans crushed tomatoes
-salt and pepper, to taste
-a pinch of sugar
-2 Tbs dried parsley leaves
Directions:
Prepare the meatballs.  Place the bread in some water.  Let it soak for about 1 minute.  Squeeze and drain well, then crumble it with your hands in a large bowl.
Mix the baking soda with the 1 Tbs water.  Mix very well, then add to the bowl.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Mix very well with your hands (that's the best part and the kids LOVE helping with that). 
Shape meatballs and fry in batches.  Drain on paper towels.
Make the sauce by heating the oil in large non stick pan. Add the garlic and onion. Give them a good stir and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth. Cook until liquid is reduced by half.
Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, and sugar. Mix well. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.  Stir in the parsley.
Add the cooked meatballs and let everything simmer for about 10 minutes.  Serve hot over pasta.  Enjoy!