Quick and healthy meals are what I strive to make each day for my family. I am a busy mom of three beautiful daughters, so finding time to cook healthy meals can be hard. Spaghetti is one of my favorite meals because it is quick and the possibilities are endless. The classic favorite in our house is spaghetti and meatballs.
When I cook pasta for my daughters I like to make it fun for them, so they want to eat it. I use different shapes and multicolored pastas, tonight I decided to use farfalle pasta or "bow-tie" pasta. The key to perfect spaghetti is the sauce. Chances are if you do not like the sauce, you will not like your food. I used to make spaghetti with jarred sauce, which was good, but I found it cheaper and tastier to make it from scratch.
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| Yummy meatballs that your family will love! |
As you will see in my recipe, I use a bit of sugar in it, PLEASE do not be scared to put it in your sauce. When I first saw chefs using sugar in their sauce I thought that they were nuts, but it actually makes a huge difference. Without the sugar, the sauce would taste a bit bitter, so just trust me and add the sugar. While making my sauce tonight I made the mistake of not using measuring spoons, I just "eyeballed it", sorry. I can give you my estimates and then update the blog when I make the sauce again.
The meatballs in this recipe I took out of one of my favorite chefs cookbooks, Giada de Laurentis "Weeknights with Giada". These meatballs can actually be used twice in one week, which is AWESOME for moms out there, such a time saver!! The meatballs can me made into little hamburgers, those are delicious as well! I will make another post about those later. So here is the recipe, I hope you enjoy it and Bon Appetit!
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Meatballs:
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup finely crushed Corn flakes
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon ketchup, plus more for serving
- 2 tablespoons grated Romano cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 pound 96 percent lean ground beef
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, stir together the cereal, parsley, egg, oil, 1 tablespoon ketchup, cheese, salt, and pepper. Add the ground beef and gently stir to combine. With damp hands, roll the mixture into 12 mini meatballs. Arrange the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet and bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes
Sauce:
Ingredients:
1 can of Petite Diced Tomatoes
1 can of Crushed Tomatoes in Thick Puree ( I used Red Pack)
1 1/2 Tbsp Red Onion Minced
1 Tbsp Oregano ( I used dried )
3 Tbsp chopped fresh Basil ( dried Basil is ok too )
1 Tbsp Sugar
1/4 Tsp Pepper
Salt to taste
Meatballs
*Remember that these are estimates to what I used.. I will update you with the correct measurements when I make the sauce again.
TIP: You can add Red Pepper Flakes, as much as you would like, to the sauce to give it a little kick!
Combine all ingredients in a large sauce pan and bring to a boil. Once the sauce starts to boil, lower heat to a low flame and allow the sauce to simmer for about 30 minutes ( 20 minutes minimum ). While you sauce is cooking, you can cook up some of your favorite pasta to serve it on.
TIP: Once your pasta is finished cooking, strain it and return it to the pan. Sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese and drizzle a bit of olive oil on the pasta and stir to distribute evenly. The cheese helps the pasta "stick" to the sauce and the oil helps to keep it from sticking to each
other.
I hope you have enjoyed reading my first entry and Happy Cooking!!
Link to Giada's recipe:
