Spaghetti and Meatballs

The Crazy Cooking Challenge group gets a theme every month and everyone makes the same item, just different variations of it. Last month, there were over seventy submissions for chocolate cake. If you're interested in the Crazy Cooking Challenge, visit Mom's Crazy Cooking to get more information. Tina, the author of Mom's Crazy Cooking, was voted as having the best looking chocolate cake, so visit her blog to see fantastic chocolate cakes as well.





I haven't had spaghetti since I was a little girl. I developed a food allergy when I was in sixth grade that made me really sick when I ate canned tomato products. Since then, I have pretty much steered clear of spaghetti. When this month's Crazy Cooking Challenge was announced: Spaghetti with Red Sauce, I went on the hunt for a recipe that didn't use any sauces, but used just tomatoes. I ran into No Recipes, which is written by Marc, who describes himself as loving food since he could see over the kitchen counter. I loved looking over the recipes in his blog and have pinned recipes such as his Crispy Zucchini Fritters and Strawberry Lemon Bars to make in the future. But I loved that his spaghetti recipe didn't call for any canned tomato ingredients.

Spaghetti and Meatballs
slightly adapted from No Recipes
Ingredients
for meatballs
1/2 medium onion, minced
3 medium cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup peeled, seeded and minced tomatoes (about 1 medium tomato)
12 ounces ground beef
6 ounces ground pork
4 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/3 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
1 ounce parmesan cheese, grated
3 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

for sauce
5 cloves of garlic minced
1 large onion minced
4 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes (about 8 medium tomatoes)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dried Italian spices
parsley, minced for garnish
whole wheat spaghetti (measured per individual)

Directions
Meatballs
1) Fry the onions and garlic in olive oil until tender and starting to brown. Add the tomatoes then continue frying until there is no liquid left in the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool.
2) In a large bowl, add the beef, pork, ricotta, egg, bread crumbs, parmesan, thyme, parsley, soy sauce, salt and pepper along with the tomato and onion mixture. Put some gloves on and use your hands to knead the mixture together until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
3) Use your hands to roll the meat into 1 1/2″ balls. The mixture will be pretty loose, so if you have trouble forming it into balls, put it in the fridge for a bit to stiffen up.
4) Heat a frying pan up over medium high heat, then add 2 tablespoons of oil. Fry the meatballs in batches, gently rolling them around to maintain their shape until browned on all sides.
5) Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of oil and set aside for the sauce.
Sauce
1) Sauté the garlic and onions until translucent in the oil that was set aside from the meatballs.
2) Add the tomatoes, bay leaf and salt then bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
3) Add the meatballs into the tomato sauce along with any collected juices. Turn the heat down to low and gently simmer for 1 hour. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of dried Italian spices.
Noodles
1) Boil some spaghetti al dente according to the package directions. Drain the pasta, then toss the pasta together with the sauce. Plate the spaghetti, then top each serving with meatballs, minced parsley and parmesan cheese.

I liked this spaghetti a lot.  We had plenty for leftovers, and I believe that the leftovers were much better than the original meal.  The flavors developed deeper as they sat in my fridge.  In the initial meal, you couldn't really taste the garlic, so I've changed the amount in the recipe to reflect what I believe would be a better amount.  The meatballs were great.  I thought that there were maybe too many ingredients and the flavors would be overpowering, but they all worked together.  I'll definitely make this recipe again, especially when tomatoes are in season.

Check out the links below to see additional Spaghetti with Red Sauce recipes:

Southwest Turkey Meatball Subs with Creamy Cilantro Sauce

When we go to Subway, my husband usually gets the meatball sub.  I found this recipe for meatballs and thought that they would make a great sub sandwich instead of just an appetizer.  I had never tried tomatillos either, so was interested in trying this recipe. 

I have to say the only bad thing that I have to say about this recipe is that it is a little ingredient heavy.  But, it is all worth it in the end.


Southwest Turkey Meatball Subs with Creamy Cilantro Sauce
slightly adapted from Skinnytaste 
Ingredients
Meatballs
1-1/4 lbs 99% lean ground turkey
1 jalapeño, seeds removed
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 scallions
1/4 cup panko
1 egg
1 teaspoon cumin
pinch oregano
salt and pepper
cooking spray
2 slices provolone
2 multi-grain deli rolls

Directions
1) Lightly spray baking pan with oil. Preheat oven to 400°.
2) Place jalapeño, garlic, cilantro, and scallions into a small food processor or chopper and pulse a few times until finely minced.
3) In a large bowl combine turkey, chopped herbs, panko, egg, cumin, salt and pepper. Using your hands, mix well and measure into desired size.
4) Bake for 15-20 minutes.
5) Turn oven to broiler.
6)  Top bread with provolone and place under the broiler until browned.


Creamy Cilantro Sauce
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup fat free Greek yogurt
1 small jalapeño, seeds removed
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro
2 tomatillos, husks removed, chopped
1 clove garlic
1 green onion
juice of 1/2 lime
1/8 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp salt

1) Combine all ingredients in a food processor, and pulse until the consistency of salad dressing.

2) Pour sauce on top of meatballs to complete the sandwich.

The Creamy Cilantro Sauce is amazing.  It was a little on the runnier side, but it was so tasty, that I really didn't mind.  I ate it on salads the rest of the week, and it made each meal very tasty.  These meatballs and the sauce are meant for each other too, they are just so complementary.  I think that is mostly due to similar seasoning in both elements.  This is a great meal, and comes together pretty fast, with most of the work in the prep.

Pork Po'Boys

I'm always looking for meatball recipes because I think they make for a hearty meal.  I saw this recipe, but cannot eat red spices (paprika, cayenne pepper) so I decided to modify the recipe to something that I could eat.

Pork Po'Boys
adapted from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
For the meatballs:
1 1/2 lbs. ground pork
1 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
1 handful of breadcrumbs

For the sauce:
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
3 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 medium kosher dill pickles, finely chopped
1/2 small shallot, minced

For the sandwiches:
4 (8-inch) soft baguettes, split (or hoagie rolls)
Red Leaf Lettuce
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 red onion
4 slices provolone cheese

Directions:
In a large bowl combine the ground pork and all of the spices for the meatballs.  Mix thoroughly using your hands until the mixture is well combined.  Form the pork into golf-ball sized meatballs.  Preheat oil in a skillet and place the meatballs in once your pan is hot.  Turning the meatballs once, about 12 minutes total, until cooked through.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the ingredients for the sauce.  Season with salt and pepper.  Mix well and spread the sauce onto the split baguettes.

Place meatballs on each baguette and top with lettuce, tomato and slices of onion.  Close the sandwiches and serve.

I followed Annie's recipe for the sauce, but the pickle taste was extremely overwhelming.  The meatballs were great, they had great texture, and they weren't dried out.  The sandwich was great, although a little messy.  The next day when I ate it for lunch, I added the cheese, which added another flavor element to the sandwich.  It was great, and my husband loved it too.