Alternative Spaghetti and Meatballs

I knew I was saving a post from Maria for a good occasion. To be dramatic, my life is in total upheaval. To be realistic, I'm busy packing up for a move this weekend. Meg and my apartment was broken into a couple weeks ago, and for the moment, we are in diaspora. I'm at my parents' in the burbs, she's with Eric (and his two roommates). We travel back and forth spending a couple hours here and there sifting through piles of belongings and packing things in boxes. I've cooked maybe twice in the past two-and-a-half weeks, I even took photos, but I can't find the right cords or the memory card, I run out of underwear every other day it seems, and I've been wearing the same pair of jeans and five T-shirts for 20 days. But here is one thing that keeps me sane: food. I'm plotting out jamming some strawberries and making shepherd's pie and boeuf bourguignon and biscotti and and and. Sigh. This weekend. Meanwhile, enjoy this health-minded meal straight from Maria over in Indiana.

This is another recipe from the awesome Kroger coupon and recipe book. I'd never had spaghetti squash but remembered reading about it here on Food Eaten. I decided to give it a try. Kroger, sadly, only had one squash left. It had a few blemishes on the outside but it turned out to be perfect on the inside. I was a little nervous about the directions. I remembered Lainey saying she'd cooked hers in water, but this called for baking. I called my mom for advice, but she'd never used spaghetti squash. It ended up working well. But once again, I had to the use cardboard mozzarella cheese. This recipe originally called for meatless meatballs, but I love my turkey meatballs.

Spaghetti Squash with Turkey Meatball Marinara 1 large spaghetti squash Turkey meatballs 1 jar marinara sauce Optional assorted vegetables (I was too hungry by the time I was doneto make extra veggies) Grated Parmesan cheese Mozzarella cheese to taste Preheat over to 350 degrees. Slice spaghetti squash in half. (I wish I had a video of this, it's not as easy as it sounds. Thoses uckers are tough!!!) Use a spoon to scrape out seeds and pulp, discard. Place squash halves face down on a foil covered pan and bakef or 1 hour. While squash is cooking, prepare turkey meatballs (see early blog post). When squash is done cooking, gently scrape the meat out of the squash with a fork and place in a baking dish. It really is magic, as Lainey pointed out. Top with marinara sauce, meatballs, mozzarella cheese and optional sauteed vegetables. Return to over just until warmed through and cheese is melted (unless you have fat free which will never melt). Top with Parm and enjoy!

Spicy Meatball

My extended weekend in St. Louis wouldn't have been complete without a night in cooking together. Maria and I had been talking that we should do a cook off, a la Iron Chef America, but in the end we were all too tired from shopping and staying up later than I've stayed up in probably since college. So Maria, Maggie and I made turkey meatballs and spaghetti for everybody.

Of course we improvised it. Maria dug into the meat, egg, bread crumb mess.

Krista made vegetables.

Jenny took this artful photo. She can even make ground meat look good. Look at that flying oregano. Amy donated her apartment and cooking utensils.

Eight of us scrunched around this little coffee table in Amy's living room to laugh and eat. Life should always come with too many friends and too few chairs.

Turkey Meatballs for a Crowd:

3 pounds ground turkey meat

2 eggs

a bunch of unseasoned bread crumbs

a clove or two of garlic

parmesan cheese

salt

pepper

dried basil, oregano and parsley

olive oil

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Use your hands, but make sure they're clean. The consistency should be goopy, thick enough to roll into a ball and not fall apart. Roll meat into golf-ball-sized balls. Turn a burner on to medium high and heat up some oil. Pan fry the meatballs until they are brown on the outside. Check one or two to make sure they're done. Serve with spaghetti and meat sauce.

Spaghetti a la Mom

I usually miss college. Don't most people look back on that time as "the best in their lives." One thing that made it "the best" is that you were surrounded by thousands of other people your age doing pretty much the same thing all the time.

My sister Al is in her fourth year of a five-year architecture program at K-State in Manhattan (Kansas). Ever since she moved out of the dorms and into an apartment/house, she and her roommates (here pictured: Steph, Carrie, Sam and Allison) have set up a routine where one person cooks for all of them every day of the week. I never thought this would last through the first few weeks of school, but the girls are keeping it up. It's a pretty sweet deal, I'd say. You only have to cook one time and you get to eat and hang out every time.

Al's roommate Sam brought each of the girls aprons from her grandma. Love it.

Last week Al made what she aptly called Spaghetti a la Mom, which is the classic red, meat sauce that we grew up with. Since I've already written about it here, I'll give an even better recipe for Garlic Bread a la Mom.

Garlic Bread: 1/4 cup butter 1 teaspoon garlic salt 2 tablespoons parmasan cheese sprinkle of paprika sprinkle of parsley loaf of French bread sliced lengthwise

In a bowl mash up the butter, garlic salt, cheese, paprika and parsley. All the spices should be added to taste, so these measurements are educated guesses and should be used as a guide. Spread butter mixture on bread. Toast bread in oven at 400 degrees for 8 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned and cheese is melted.

Saturday Basghetti.

Friday I went to this old neighborhood Italian restaurant for a review for The Reader. Best thing I can say about them: superb, sweet, silky red sauce. I wrote how it was as good as my mother's. True. Sort of. Mostly it's just completely different. My mom's sauce isn't smooth. It's chunky, with chopped onions, diced tomatoes and meat.

Bailey came over after we volunteered at the Hope Center. Spaghetti seemed the simplest option for a quick dinner. One thing my version lacked, however, was the Italian sausage. My mom always adds this to give the meal a kick. This is the thing that makes this recipe a favorite of Craig's. We made it for that first Valentine's Day dinner in 2004 at the guys' Riggan House (on their one functioning burner), Craig has been subtly requesting it ever since. (Here you go Craig, in case you lost the last recipe I gave you).

Spaghetti and Meat Sauce:

3/4 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes

2 6-ounce cans tomato paste

2 cups water

1 teaspoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 bay leaf

cooked spaghetti

1 pound ground beef, cooked

Cook onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in next 8 ingredients. Add meat. Simmer uncovered 30 minutes; remove bay leaf. Serve over spaghetti.