Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Spaghetti and Meatballs

So I like to cook. That's never an issue. It's finding the time, and inspiration that are the issues from time to time. With a husband who is an over-the-road truck driver, a 30-minute commute one way to work, and two children who are growing faster than I know how to handle, some nights it's all I can do to make peanut butter sandwiches.

I figure they're at least a little better than a blue box of mac-n-cheese.

But tonight, we're having spaghetti and meatballs. And no jarred sauce here. Nuh-uh. Some friends of mine have been raving, absolutely raving about this amazingly simple sauce--whole, peeled tomatoes, butter, and an onion. That's all it is. So, we're trying it tonight.

The first friend originally found it here:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/01/tomato-sauce-with-butter-and-onions/

As for the meatballs? Well, there is some cheating going on there. I walked into Graziano's, my favorite local Italian grocery store the other day. After just stopping for a moment to inhale deeply, I noticed "meatball mix" on the shelf. The instructions said to mix the entire container with one pound of ground beef, one pound of ground pork, 2 eggs and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. The ingredients on the container are: breadcrumbs, Romano cheese, salt, spices. Pretty simple.

It also said to fry them up, but 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven, and I have now achieved meatball nirvana. The kitchen smells like Grazianos. And that is not a bad thing.

The most packaged thing tonight is the pasta. And even that label only has 4 ingredients. Whoopee! Supper tonight might not be given the seal of approval from Clean Eating magazine, but it will be delicious, and will still have less clutter than what can be found on the inner shelves of my local Hy-Vee.

And best of all? My husband made it through town tonight, so we'll be sitting down as a family. Not a complete family, I do have two stepsons who are at their mom's house, but still a family.