Spaghetti and Meatballs

Okay, so ... do you know anyone who doesn't like spaghetti and sauce? Thought not. It's like being a kid again. It's ... fun food. The "meatballs" part is just an added fun thing that meat-lovers will appreciate. I'm actually not a huge meat-lover myself, but it's fun once in a while. And guys tend to really be into having the meat in their meals.

So, I'm going to share this spaghetti and meatballs recipe with you. Well, mostly meatballs. I mean, I'll tell you how I do the spaghetti and sauce part, but mostly, the cool part of this recipe is the meatballs themselves. I took the meatball recipe straight out of the Betty Crocker Cookbook. The thing is, I used ground turkey instead of ground beef. I guess it's supposed to be a little bit better for you than beef (not that I care all THAT much, but it's not important, because these taste every bit as good as beef meatballs). The sauce part is just my own creation (mostly prepackaged, so don't be too impressed). Okay, so...here it is:

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Ingredients:

For the Meatballs:
1 pound ground beef or turkey (the store I go to tends to sell ground turkey in 1 1/4 pound packages. I don't know why, but that's what I had to work with, so I changed all the other amounts accordingly. I'll do the math for you here. To be honest, you can be a bit loose with this recipe and it still comes out good. DON'T WORRY!)
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs (add another 1/8 cup or so to go with the extra turkey)
1/4 cup milk (I could do the math here, but the extra amount is so ridiculously small. Basically, add another 1/4 of 1/4 cup)
3/4 teaspoon salt (again, just a tiny bit more to even out the extra turkey)
1/2 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce (and add a tiny bit extra if you've got the extra turkey - it's totally loose)
1 small onion chopped (about 1/4 cup) (I mixed white onion with a little shallot - it's just a matter of taste...plus, I had some shallot I wanted to use up. And, of course, you can add a little more if you've got the extra turkey)
1 egg (I did not add any extra egg to make up for the extra meat and it was still fine. The egg is just there to hold the mixture together and that 1 egg seemed to do the trick).

For the pasta and sauce:
1 jar of "Vodka" spaghetti sauce (or any sauce that's more orange than red - maybe a super cheesy sauce would be a good substitute)
1 jar of spaghetti sauce (any kind that's more red - as opposed to more orange, like the vodka sauce)
A bunch of your favorite pasta (I used spaghetti because it's thick and just seems to go well with this recipe. Also, you may want to consider how much of this you're going to eat at one time. If you want to, you can just make enough pasta to go with your first meal and then, anytime you want to eat more of the sauce and meatballs, just whip up some more pasta to go with it).
A ton of mushrooms (optional) (if you like mushrooms, that is. Otherwise, skip it. I used 2 bags of fresh sliced mushrooms from Trader Joe's. I suppose a bag is about the equivalent of a container of mushrooms from the store. I like the ones from Trader Joe's because they're sliced thick).
2 Tbsp butter (or olive oil) (Just use whichever one you enjoy the flavor of. I happen to think butter goes really, really well with mushrooms).
A dash of salt and pepper

Grated parmesan (optional - for serving on top of the finished product)

Directions:
Mix all the meatball ingredients; shape into twenty 1 1/2 inch meatballs (I actually got more than that out of it...maybe mine were smaller. I used a mellon baller to get them nice and round). Place on an ungreased cookie sheet or rectangular pan. Bake uncovered in 400 degree oven until done and light brown, ABOUT 20 to 25 minutes.

Heat enough water to cook the amount of pasta you've decided make. Remember to add a pretty good sized dash of salt to the water. It does actually flavor the pasta while it's cooking. When the water boils, add a big drizzle of olive oil to the pot, and throw in your pasta. It's usually a good idea to stir the pasta often during the first minute or two to prevent it from sticking together. Cook until the pasta is done (of course, the time depends on what kind of pasta you're making - check the package for suggested times and of course, give it a taste when you think it's ready). I don't recommend the old "throw the pasta at the ceiling and if it sticks, it's done" test. Too messy for me. I just taste it (trying not to burn my mouth in the process) and see if it's the consistency I want.

Saute the mushrooms, butter, salt and pepper in a non-stick pan over high heat until the mushrooms change color and soften (about 4 or 5 minutes). Stir occasionally. (It's not really all that important how long you cook them because they'll cook a bit in the sauce anyway).

If you used a VERY LARGE saute pan that's big enough to hold all the spaghetti sauce and meatballs, then go ahead and just add both jars of sauce to that saucepan with the mushrooms in it. Otherwise, put the mushrooms and both jars of sauce into a large pot or saucepan. Add the meatballs, too. heat the whole mixture over medium-low heat until it's warmed through.

Serve the sauce and meatballs over the pasta and sprinkle with grated parmesan if you want to. YUMMM!!!

NOTE: This makes a pretty good amount of food. You can, of course, freeze some of it for later use. I don't recommend freezing the pasta itself, but you can put the sauce and meatballs into freezer bags in smaller portions (one or two servings). When you want to eat them, just throw the frozen mass into microwave in a loosely covered container (you don't want sauce all over the inside of your microwave and it has to be LOOSELY covered because otherwise, pressure will build up and cause a food explosion inside the microwave. Again - a huge mess!).