Meatballs

I was going to blog during the boy's nap time today and then I fell asleep, sitting up.  I was paying bills one minute and the next I was startled awake by my own snoring.  I decided I should take nap and not blog. :)

Wednesday night I made spaghetti and meatballs.  This is yet again one of my favorite meals, it's also one of Jon's favorites.  While the boys don't eat the meatballs, they love the sauce and noodles.  Spaghetti night is a good dinner night in our house.

I used my Spaghetti Meat Sauce recipe, minus the meat, for the sauce.  This post is about the meatballs.  I use my Hawaiian Meatball recipe as a guideline.  I just tweek it to make it Italian.

Meatballs
Prep time 25 mins
Cook time 20 mins
Serves 6

Ingredients
2lbs ground beef
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
2/3 cup minced/chopped dried onion
2 eggs
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp garlic powder
1/2 cup milk

1. Mix all items together.  Let sit for at least 20 minutes, or make ahead of time, to help the flavors meld.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium high seat.  Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet.
3. Form meatballs, using roughly 1 tablespoon of meat.
4. Add meatballs to the skillet and cook for approx 5 minutes, until browned. Turn meatballs and cook for another 5 minutes.  Repeat process until all the meatballs are cooked.  We like our meatballs on the crispy side. :)

Golden brown (well black) and delicious.

5. Serve over your choice of pasta and with your choice of sauce.  I highly recommend this sauce, minus the meat.  Sprinkle with Parmesan.

 

Spaghetti Meat Sauce

No witty title tonight, actually I've decided to drop the witty titles all together.  (At least, I thought they were witty.  I realized that keeping track of the recipes I've blogged about could get tricky and time consuming, unless I just titled the blog the recipe.  Boring I know but it will save a small amount of my remaining sanity.

I stumbled across tonight's recipe when I went to make spaghetti and meatballs one night for dinner, only to discover I had no spaghetti sauce.  You'll find a ton of spaghetti sauce recipes online, this one fit my criteria that night.  Quick and I had all the ingredients on hand.

Yes, I had all of these on hand that day.  Don't let the number of ingredients scare you.  This recipe goes together very quickly and is super easy to make.  (Please note: there is a missing member of the cast, mushrooms.  I had them in the fridge, I just forgot them for the picture.)
Here's the link to the original recipe and below is how I make it.

Quick Spaghetti Meat Sauce
Prep: 15 mins
Cook time: 45 mins
Serves 6

1 teaspoon dried basil leaves 
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 bay leaf 
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 teaspoon salt 
2 tablespoons granulated garlic or to taste
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
2 (16-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
2 cups beef broth
8 Ounces sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce  
1 package spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
Parmesan cheese

1.  In small bowl, combine the basil, oregano, parsley and bay leaf, set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat.  After the meat is browned, season with salt and garlic.
3.  Add the onion to the saucepan and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and cook an additional 5 minutes.
4.  Stir in the reserved spice mixture and cooking for 1 minutes.
5.  Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 to 30 minutes.
6.  Mix the spaghetti and sauce in a large bowl to evenly coat the spaghetti.  Top with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Sorry for the lame picture.  I was in such a hurry to get dinner to the table, I forgot to take a picture.  So I made Jon's lunch for tomorrow look pretty and took a picture of it.

Now I'm sure there are other delicious from scratch spaghetti sauce recipes out there, but they take hours, days, weeks even.  This recipe is quick and yummy.  WAY better than any out of the jar sauce I've had.

Tomorrow is another pasta night.  Ravioli (store bought) with homemade Alfredo sauce.