SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS

Classic-American family receipe, you think? Of course not! Especially from Rach! You may CLICK HERE for a direct link to her "kid-friendly" dining and SEE BELOW for a very abbreviated version for your enjoyment! These types of recipes are exceptionally fun for the gremlins though, if you homemake your meatballs! At the ripe age of 5, playing with your food doesn't get any better.. and it is always a treat to eat a no-so-round-almost-flat meatball made with the love and dedication of your mini-me. Now.... I have never made a meatball before so don't expect that recipe here, yet! See Rach's recipe in the link above.

Now.. onto ingredients for sketti:
(as a reminder, especially to new "readers", I don't measure anything... I "EYEBALL" it)

- couple tablespoons of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
- thyme seasoning, dried
- rosemary seasoning, dried
- sage seasoning
- three bay leaves (or not!)
- oregano seasoning, dried
- basil seasoning, dried
- marjoram seasoning, dried (I never have this on hand and "substitute" parsley - just because.)
- 1 bag frozen italian meatballs
- 1 can whole, peeled tomatoes
- 1 large can of tomato puree
- 1 small, baby can tomato paste
- beef stock
- quarter can roasted tomatoes (not necessary, but I like)
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 shallot
- about 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
- 1 pound of spaghetti pasta
- dash of salt / dash of sugar
- 1 pound ground beef, cooked (or ground hot italian sausage)

I normally use fresh herbs for pasta sauces because the flavor is much more vibrant. However, when I woke up in the mood to cook yesterday morning at 8:30am, I wasn't heading to the grocery store in my pajamas. And by pajamas, I mean yoga capris, tank with no bra, smeared raccoon eyes with sleep probably still in my eyes. No, maybe not... I splashed water on my face after I brushed my teeth. No hairbrushing took place at this time, though. It was still half up on the make-shift ponytail left over from pillow-head.

I had a half bag of italian meatballs left over from a Christmas party in my freezer (in addition to the full bag I used FOR the meatballs) so what I did was pulled out food processor and ground these up after heating through in the toaster oven (on bake). Therefore, I did not use any ground beef listed above in the ingredients. It was a nice alternative and, again, I wasn't going to the store.

Directions for your Sauce:

Pour in the can of whole tomatoes and add about a cup of beef stock. Simmer, with lid on for about fifteen minutes. In the meantime, start browning your ground beef (or sausage). Use a potato masher to mash the whole tomatoes (I personally don't like chunks in my sauces. If you do, just do a quick mash - nothing major). At this time, add your tomato paste, give it a swirl and then add your can of tomato puree (I typically have tomatoes on hand that need to be eaten or thrown out... so I puree these to use instead of the canned puree). Add about half a palm full each of all of your dried seasonings. In a small blender (I have a handheld blender that holds about a cup) combine your garlic, shallot and roasted tomatoes. Again, if you like chunky, don't blend the tomatoes, just dump in the sauce - however, I have found that MOST rugrats won't eat chunks of anything... I know my precious nieces won't! If you don't want to blend, just grate the garlic and shallot into the sauce. If you are OK with chunky, just chop it up! Add your mixture to your sauce, give it a swirl. After draining your cooked ground beef (or sausage), dump into your sauce - or in my case, ground italian meatballs. Stir until combined, toss in your frozen meatballs, bay leaf (if desired), stir and cover. Let simmer for an hour to incorporate all the flavors and heat the meatballs through. At this time, give it a taste. You may find you need more salt. If it is a bit salty, add a tad bit of sugar (this offsets the acidity). Season to taste - this is YOUR sauce so play with it! Make it your own - Rach uses crushed red pepper flakes in hers. If you like a bit of heat on it, just do it! Alternately, I use ground hot italian sausage in most my red pasta sauces. Gives it a nice kick. My older sister can't even tell it's "hot" - she doesn't even eat your food if she sees you putting pepper in it, so shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Don't tell her.

After you have made your personal-taste adjustments, if you need to loosen up the sauce some add a few turns of the pot of EVOO - if it's a bit too runny for your taste, add some parmesan cheese (about and 1/8-1/4 cup).



Throw your pasta into salt-seasoned boiling water. Cook to al-dente. Drain and add your pasta to your sauce OR if you're entertaining, cook it through, drain and put it on a large platter, then dump your meatball sauce over the top. This makes for a great presentation! If I was a "good" blogger, I would have taken a photo of my finished product on display - instead of just my whole tomatoes cooking. I believe I was distracted by my need to begin tuna salad... It was a massive cook-fest Sunday for me!

It would look something along the lines of this - all mixed together. I like "presentation" so top it with parmesan and parsley! If you have fresh leaf, it's even more vibrant! Serve, of course, with garlic bread of choice.



If you choose "non-chunky" style, most children would clean their bedrooms for spaghetti and meatballs. Probably one of the easiest go-to recipes. And quite cheap. Some, if not all of these spices are in SOMEONE'S spice cabinet. They were all in mine... but I'm a self-proclaimed cooker. It's imperative I have these to make myself feel chef-like. You, on the other hand may need to swing through the spice section at Wal-mart on your next trip. The Dollar Store even carries some of these! As an added note, I use all of these spices for various different other recipes as well so you can never go wrong. Well, maybe - but we'll never know. Frozen bag of Italian meatballs- store brand were $2.98/bag. There are approximately 32 balls in a bag. Your most expensive thing here will be your ground beef (or hot italian sausage).


MAKE AHEAD:
If you want to use this for later in the week, say - next weekend's dinner because you are going out of town on a much needed girls' beach trip, cook your sauce as above. Let cool to room temperature, put in an air tight plastic container and toss it in the freezer. CERTAINLY the hubby (or boyfriend/significant other/domestic partner... I try to cover all bases) is self sufficient enough to thaw a sauce, re-heat it (either stove or microwave), cook up some pasta and serve. Right? Or.. I may just be giving them too much credit. What can I say? I'm single!

I hope you enjoy - again, it's YOUR sauce. Play with it. Add some of Rach's ingredients if you like to experiment. If you wish for something a bit more traditional, take out some of MY ingredients. This is all about YOU. Make it happen.