Big Ballers

Last week when I got home Wednesday evening I just wasn't feeling the cooking vibe. But for once I made myself stick to the program and I got my butt in the kitchen after being lazy for about 30 minutes. Just long enough to enjoy a Designing Women re-run, ha. On the menu were Rosemary Meatballs and Penne with Broccoli. Unfortunately I assumed that one of the 5 packages of pasta in my pantry was surely filled with penne. You know what happens when you assume. You use bow-tie pasta instead, ha. And I was tempted to just toss together a general approximation of the meatballs, but I made myself follow the recipe. I'm quite glad I did too, cause these were really excellent.

Rosemary Meatballs
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4












8 oz. ground beef chuck
8 oz. ground pork
1.5 cups panko
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups homemade or store-bought tomato sauce

• In a large bowl, combine beef, pork, panko, egg, garlic, rosemary, lemon zest and juice, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Mix just until combined (do not overmix.) Using a level 1/4 cup measure for each, form mixture into 12 meatballs.
• Heat oil in a large skillet with a lid over medium-high. Add meatballs; cook, turning occasionally, until browned, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Tilt skillet away from you, and pour in tomato sauce. Bring sauce to a boil over medium-high; reduce heat to medium. Cover, and simmer until meatballs are cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve meatballs and sauce, garnished with more rosemary, if desired.

My notes: The only thing I did differently with the meatballs is I used all beef because I happened to have just over a pound in the freezer already. I also only cooked half of the meatballs for our dinner. While forming the meatballs I placed them on wax paper and after putting our dinner's worth in the skillet I put the meatballs still on the paper onto a baking sheet and flash froze them for 30 minutes. I then placed them in a freezer bag so we can enjoy them later. For the bow-tie & broccoli I just added some frozen broccoli for the last few minutes of cooking the pasta. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the water. Then toss the pasta and broccoli with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese, and add reserved water as needed to create a light sauce. I topped it with a little more shredded parmesan.

We can make sandwiches....

That's an inside joke. With someone who doesn't even read this blog actually. Gosh, how rude of me. Sorry, my mind takes me where it takes me, and I can't be responsible if we get lost on the way. Let me try and get it back on the road. Last night I made Meatball Subs for dinner. I have never even had a meatball sandwich before. They have always been appealing to me, but I've never had the opportunity presented to get one. I know, I coulda just ordered one up any of the hundreds of times I've been to Subway, but I wouldn't even know how to ask for one, since I don't know what makes a good one. But I took it upon myself to introduce this sandwich into my life. We hit it off! This sub was delicious. Granted, I'd never had one before so who am I to know, but I thought it was awesome. And when the hubster got home and I made him his, he concurred. And that's coming from someone who has eaten a few of them before. I aimed to make a less messy version, for the obvious reason of being less messy. This was a truly easy thing to make, especially since it's a leftovers meal. That's right, remember those meatballs I made a few weeks ago? Well, I just popped those leftovers from freezer to fridge the night before, and fridge to the oven that evening. I served the sandwiches with a salad on the side. I just kind of threw together the few vegetables I had left in the fridge- broccoli, carrots, and onion- with spinach and spring mix.

Meatball Subs
Made by me; Serves 2
10 meatballs
1 small can Hunt's basil, garlic, and oregano tomato sauce
Red pepper flakes
Parmesan cheese
Shredded Mozzarella cheese
2 wheat hoagie/sub sandwich rolls

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place meatballs on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.
• While meatballs are in the oven heat the tomato sauce in a small sauce pan over low heat. Flavor sauce with sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes, to taste.
• Remove meatballs from oven, and place them in the sauce to coat. Allow to sit for a minute or two, while you prepare the rolls. Cut the rolls horizontally, stopping short of cutting all the way through. Pull out some of the soft innards on the top and bottom, to create a nest for your meatballs.
• Place 5 meatballs in the recess of the bottom portion of the roll. Spoon as much sauce as you'd like over the meatballs and top with Mozzarella.

My notes: When the meatballs come out of the oven, I usually pick each one up and move it to a clean spot on the parchment, to help drain off some of the fat that will have pooled around them while baking. Some people might like more Parmesan cheese, but I found that since I used it in the meatballs, flavoring the sauce with a bit carried the flavor through nicely.

And Lindsey- I'm totally gonna work on that entry for you, just wanna do some research first.

Spaghetti & Meatballs

Monday night I made Spaghetti with Vegetable Marinara and Parmesan Meatballs. I'm quite pleased with how this meal came out because I just kind of made it up as I went along. My one regret is that I put my sauce over my meatballs so you can't really see them in the pic. I've never made meatballs before, so this was a bit of an experiment for me. This made enough for us to both have a good meal, and I have extra sauce and meatballs in the freezer for another night. I didn't really follow a set recipe for any of it, so I'll just try to re-cap as best I can.

Spaghetti with Vegetable Marinara & Parmesan Meatballs
Recipe from me!
Meatballs-
1 lb. ground beef
1/5 cup dried breadcrumbs
1/5 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/3 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/3 teaspoon dried basil
Coarse salt and ground pepper

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl using a fork or your hands. Roll meat mixture into balls about the size of ping-pong balls. Place on cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.
• If freezing for later use, arrange on cookie sheet and place in freezer for 30 minutes. Remove from freezer and place in airtight container or freezer bag. Flash freezing beforehand will keep them from sticking to one another.

Vegetable Marinara-
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, ribbed & seeded, chopped
1 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and chopped
1 can Hunt's Garlic & Herb Tomato Sauce
Crushed red pepper flakes
Dried oregano leaves
Dried basil
Coarse salt and ground pepper

• Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, pepper, and zucchini; cook, stirring, until vegetables have softened.
• Add tomato sauce. Add seasonings to taste. Stirring occasionally, cook until heated through.

My notes: I just eyeball how much spaghetti I want to cook. I usually have leftovers but we were hungry people. :) I was going to add carrots to the sauce, but I discovered that Josh had taken the baby carrots to work with him that morning. So, you might add carrots, if you're so inclined.

The rest of this week has been comprised of repeat performances from Red Beans and Rice and Chicken Pot Pie. I was planning on making grilled cheese and soup tonight, but I actually didn't have the supplies in the pantry that I thought I did. I've been having real grocery problems lately. I've already spent over half my monthly budget, and it's only the 12th of the month. Jeezy Creezy! I've gotta do some re-thinking of the way I go about things, I guess.