Chef Nouveau

Who doesn't like spagetti and meatballs?? I think it is a bit like icecream. Just about everybody likes meatballs and spagetti or some type of pasta. Well, this is a yummy simple recipe that will have you craving this dish weekly. The great things about it are; it's kid friendly, it's healthy, it's easy and it's inexpensive.

The goods:

- ground beef (depends how many you are feeding… in this case 1lb - makes about 16-20 balls)
- salted soda crackers  (12-15)
- oil (2 table spoons)
- jar of spagetti sauce (the better kind, usually sold in glass jars)
- pasta (spagettini, spagetti, etc.)

Start with the meatballs… Mix up by hand the ground beef with finely ground crackers and 1/8 cup water. Note: The finer you grind up the crackers the better. If you have a blender or electric whizzer chopper all the better. If not you may have to spend a couple of minutes crushing with a fork or spoon. I have this crazy chopper my mother gave me. She got it in Europe and it spins at like 6 million RPM's!! I don't know who makes it but it looks like a coffee grinder and is quite small. It can turn just about anything into powder in about 2 seconds. I put salt in once to make it nice and fine for putting on homemade potato chips and it turned the ordinary table salt into a powder like substance resembling flour!! ANYWAY, your crackers don't need to be that fine, just fine.

Roll the mixture into meatballs about the size of golf balls and brown in a skillet or fry pan with about 1 - 2 tablespoons of oil on medium heat. Nudge them around to brown them on all sides. About 10 minutes. Now pour in the spagetti sauce and cover. Turn the heat down a wee bit and simmer for about 30 - 60 minutes. Mix and stir once in while…
 

After the meatballs have been on for 20 minutes or so start some water boiling for the pasta. If you are not sure how to make the pasta read the directions on the package. I always add some salt and about 1 tablespoon of oil to the water. I'm not really sure why, it just seems like the right thing to do  Once the pasta is cooked to the desired tenderness, drain and add some olive oil and mix.
 

Serve the pasta and the meatballs in seperate dishes.  This allows everyone to choose how much sauce/meatballs they want on their pasta. This recipe goes great with a fresh salad and garlic bread. Garlic bread is easy to make. To make 8 slices of bread or 8 bun halves, use 1/4 cup of butter and 3 -4 cloves of garlic. If your butter is in the fridge, nuke it in the microwave for about 15 - 20 second after you crush the garlic into it. Then mix it around some and spread onto the bread. Grill in the oven for about 5-10 minutes on the middle rack. Put it in the oven before you preheat. This allows the butter to melt into the bread somewhat before it browns. Keep a close eye on the bread as it burns real easy. Set the timer on the stove at 2 minute intervals so you don't forget about it. I tell you, one minute it's looking like it's just about brown and the next it's black as charcoal.
 

Eat, enjoy…
CN.