Spaghetti and Meatballs

Italian Dinner Recipes

3/4 c. bread crumbs 2 Tbsp. parsley 2 eggs 2 Tbsp. milk 1/4 c. grated cheese salt and pepper to taste 1 lb. ground meat 1/4 c. olive oil 1 lb. spaghetti 4 c. marinara sauce (red sauce, tomato gravy)

This classic meal is always a crowd pleaser. Add a tossed salad and a slice of crusty bread and you're eating well on a shoestring budget! Note: If you're watching your calorie count, try using ground turkey for the ground meat. In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs, parsley, eggs, milk, cheese, salt and pepper. Then add ground meat to the bowl and combine well. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Form bite-sized meatballs from the meat mixture (either with your hands or with spoons or however you form meatballs at your house). Place the meatballs in the skillet and allow to cook about 3 minutes, long enough to brown on the bottom surface. When placing the meatballs in the skillet, make sure they don't touch each other. Carefully turn the meatballs and allow to cook on another side. Let cook over medium heat until done through. Add the marinara sauce to the meatballs, then reduce heat to simmer while the pasta cooks. While meatballs are simmering, bring plenty of salted water to the boil and cook pasta until al dente. Reserve a little of the cooking water and place this in the pasta bowl. Drain the pasta and place in the pasta bowl. Toss with the reserved cooking water. Or drizzle with just a little bit of olive oil. (This will help it to be not so sticky while you finish the sauce. Ideally, the pasta should finish right when the sauce does, but that never seems to happen in my kitchen.) If you don't have fussy kids at your house, toss the pasta together with the sauce and serve. If you do, serve separately. Garnish with grated cheese.

Submitted by Gretchen Grant
Contributed on: Sunday August 5th, 2007 and modified on Sunday April 6th, 2008