Italian Sausage Meatballs and Spaghetti

Wow, time has flown by and I finally had some time to sit down and share a meal with ya'll!! It was one of those nights where we had some random items hanging around and the Italian came out in me full force with this one!! Spaghetti and meatballs is a favorite of mine. I love to throw in all sorts of yummies to make it a little less ordinary! So, I pulled the drawers out of the fridge and looked for things I needed to make fast before they went bad and realized I could make a mean spaghetti dinner! It was fabulous and everything was just hanging around our cabinets and fridge, so here is how I dressed it up.

I threw a package of spaghetti in a large pot and started that cooking, while Dee Jay started on the meatballs. We had a little over a pound of ground Italian sausage ready to be cooked so he mashed up the meat and threw in a couple handfuls of finely diced onion, and tossed in a little handful of oatmeal. I had a left-over jar of Ragu spaghetti sauce, so I tossed that on a back-burner and chopped the rest of the onion and tossed it in. I added a dash (shake the container once or twice) of oregano and parsley. Then found some red pepper flakes to add a kick to the sauce! When the spaghetti was done, I drained the water in the sink added a splash of red wine vinegar and about two tablespoons of butter. We tossed the sauce in with spaghetti and left it on the stove on low while the meatballs finished cooking!

When everything was ready to go I warmed up some garlic bread in the oven and served it up!! The meal saved an onion and a jar of sauce from meeting their doom! It's so easy to grab things around your kitchen and start cooking something regular and give it a little individual taste of your own! If you're out of ideas for cooking and about to throw a microwave meal in, look around and think to yourself what tastes good together and what could make an easy meal when you're at the end of your groceries!! You'll find you have enough food left to feed a family of 10 for a week if you really use your brain :) It's fun to cook like this, even though some people think it's scary or afraid they will just mess it up! You know what tastes good to you...So, I'm challenging you to try it out! It's fun to come up with a meal by yourself and we LOVED this! I could eat Italian food every single day, so it didn't take long to know what I wanted to do! If you get a good idea going, send them my way!! I love to hear what ya'll are cooking in your kitchens!! Stay tuned because I just made an incredible venison roast that will be added very soon!! Hunting season is almost upon us once again, and this girl could not be more excited to finally have some meat back in the freezer!!

Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top when you're ready to eat :)

~HAPPY EATING~

Sweet and Sour Meatballs with Rice

So, it's been kind of rainy and blah in Tulsa the last couple days so I decided to make one of our favorite new dishes that we haven't had in awhile. Sweet and sour meatballs with white rice! I found this little gem on a blog I love to follow, Lauren's Latest. (The direct link to her recipe is here... Recipe). Think of almost a meatloaf flavor meatball with a tangy and sweet sauce over white rice. Heavenly? Yes!!! We haven't had time to go to the store yet this week, and all of these ingredients I still had in my freezer/fridge, so it was a pretty easy decision to make. One thing I love about cooking is getting your hands dirty (a big reason I love to garden as well). I like getting in there and mixing the ingredients together and forming the perfect meatballs to make a delicious meal. So here's how to make this mouthwatering dish!

First you will take a half of a pound of meat and throw it in a bowl (I always use at least a pound and add a little more to each ingredient as I go along because it's something easy Dee Jay can warm up when he gets home...Gotta love those leftovers)! Next I chop up 1/4 cup (plus a little more for us) of white onion. I usually try to cut my pieces pretty small but I was in a hurry today so the pieces were bigger. Toss the onion in with the meat. Next, you will cut up one clove of garlic and add to the mix along with some salt and pepper and one egg. Then add 1/3-1/2 cup of breadcrumbs and get ready for the fun part! I like to take my hands (if it grosses you out use a spatula or something to mix with) and really mix those ingredients together. I knead mine together, kind of like I'm making bread dough until everything is thoroughly mixed.

 After you have finished, you will scoop a little meat out and roll around in your palms to form a small meat ball. Keep rollin' until you run out of meat!

Now it's time to make the sauce (because you will need to pay attention to the meatballs in the skillet it's best to make the sauce ahead of time). Grab a bowl and mix together a cup of ketchup, 1/2 cup of water, a teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons of yellow mustard, 1 clove of minced garlic, 2 tablespoons of finely chopped onion, 1 1/2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, a little bit of pepper, and a 1/4 of a cup of packed brown sugar.
NOTE: I added a dash of Worcestershire and soy sauce to the meat mixture or you can just stick with the recipe and use it in the sauce only).
Stir this saucy goodness around until it's mixed together and set aside.

Now you're going to take a large skillet and pour in some olive oil. I usually go around the pan 2-3 times and then coat the bottom of the pan very well. Carefully add the meatballs into the oil (watch out for grease splashes) and brown on all sides. After I have browned the meat I set it on a plate with a paper towel to help soak up some of the oil and grease. Then I drain the extra grease out of the pan run a paper towel over the grease to help soak it up and then put the meatballs back into the skillet. Turn the heat down low and coat the meatballs with your sauce and put a lid on it and sit back for about 15 minutes and let your mouth water as you smell the goodness in the air. When you have about 5 minutes left I throw the rice in some boiling water and let stand for 5 minutes as the package directs.

Once the 15 minute waiting period is over (it seems to take FOREVER), I take the skillet off the stove and let cool for about 3-4 minutes (that is really all I can stand once I take the lid off and can smell the sauce)! In a bowl we add rice and then top with the meatballs with sauce and DIG IN!! Have I mentioned how yummy this is?? Because it will leave you wanting more and more and more and so on. I think I need to have a dance off in my living room now to burn some extra calories because one bowl is just not enough.

Here is the link to the site again with the recipe and I'll put the ingredients below as well!
~Happy Eating~

Sweet and Sour Meatballs
 MEATBALLS
1/2 lb ground beef (80/20)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
salt
pepper
1 egg
1/3-1/2 cup breadcrumbs
(I add a dash of Worcestershire and soy sauce)
Olive oil (for the pan)

SAUCE
1 cup ketchup
1/2 water
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1-1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
pepper