Day 37: Spaghetti and Meatballs

Today my sister, Jasmine, will be cooking and contributing to the blog today! I decided to do something easy tonight, and I figured Spaghetti and home made meatballs are perfect!

What you will need (Meatballs):

1 lb of ground beef


2 eggs


bread crumbs (enough to hold beef together, about 8-10 crackers)


2 tablespoon parsley


Onion (1/2 cup or so. I like lots of onions, so I will probably use more)


1 tbsp Olive Oil


1/4 cup parmesan


Salt & Pepper






Spaghetti:


Enough spaghetti to feed your family


Jar of sauce










Directions:


1. Cook pasta according to directions.


2. Prepare the meatballs. Mix by hand in a large bowl beef, parsley, eggs, breadcrumbs, cheese, salt, and pepper until well mixed. Use small melon baller, or teaspoons to form 1-inch round meat balls (or your hands). Roll and compress into tight balls.


3.Heat frying pan on high heat. Add olive oil. Sear and brown meat balls on all sides. About 2-3 minutes. Depending on pan size you may need to brown two batches of the meatballs. Do not crowd the pan by stacking the meatballs. Cook in a single layer. Do not over-cook.


4. Combine cooked meatballs and sauce in a pan or crockpot. You can heat meatballs in crockpot all day on low or you can heat the meatballs on high for few minutes till sauce is warm






Ashley's Thoughts:


I really enjoy these, whenever we do make them. I blanched some spinach and put the spinach in the sauce to add a little bit of vegetables to it. Jimmy would rate these a 8/10. I guess i'll agree with him. He said these meatballs were missing something. Maybe I should have put like a jalapeno pepper of put cheese in them to make them "pop".

Day 2-Easy Peasy Chili

This recipe is great on a cold snowy day. Not necessarily on the nutritious side, but it will surely warm you up in an instant!

What you will need:

1 pack of chili seasoning (name brand or store brand is fine)

1 LB of ground beef (feeds roughly four)

1 can of kidney beans (drained)

16 oz of tomato sauce

1 can of diced tomatoes (drained)

Adding more vegetables like corn, green beans, etc is up to you. I added a can of whole kernel corn (drained).

On a side note, if you are trying to feed more then four people, or have a dinner set aside for a few days, adding pasta is a great way to fill people up faster, and it will help make your dinner last longer.

Get cookin'!:

1. Brown the ground beef, drain fat.

2. Combine chili seasoning and tomato sauce

3. Add vegetables and diced tomatoes together and let simmer for a few minutes until reached desired heat.

4. If you wish to add pasta, combine pasta and chili together in the pot or skillet.

This dish is great if you are on a budget and/or wanting to warm up on a cold day.

My fiance Jimmy rates this meal 8/10 stars.