Mushroom Meatballs & Garlic Pasta

Meatballs:
1 lb lean ground beef, turkey or chicken
1 cup finely chopped mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 egg
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs
Spices: red chile flakes, salt & pepper, garlic & onion granules

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.  Form into golf ball sized meatballs and place on parchment paper.  Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes.

You could fry these in a little olive oil, but baking them keeps the fat down.  Good for you meatballs means that I don't feel so guilty about putting butter in the pasta.

Pasta: 
1 lb spaghetti
4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
6 cloves of garlic finely minces
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons of butter ( you can omit this if you want, but I like the creaminess it adds to the pasta)
1/4-1/2 cup pasta water
Fresh black pepper
Cook spaghetti according to the package directions.  Save about 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water.  Drain the pasta.  In a large pot heat the olive oil and garlic until fragrant.  Toss in the drained pasta and 1/4 cup of the pasta water.  Add in the Parmesan cheese, butter and black pepper.  Toss.  If it is too sticky slowly add in the remaining pasta water until everything loosens up.

I served my garlicy pasta with a couple of meat balls, some roasted broccoli and a slice of garlic bread.

Meat Balls

Who doesn't like homemade meat balls in slow simmered tomato sauce?

Meat Balls
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb 80/20 ground beef
1/3-1/2 cup of seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
1 large egg
Spice Mix: dried parsley, oregano, sun-dried tomato flakes, garlic granules, onion granules, red chile flakes, salt & pepper.

Mix all the ingredients by hand and form into balls.  I like to go for a little smaller than a golf ball.  Brown the  meat balls in a skillet over medium heat.  You'll need to turn them several times to get them browned all over.

As the meat balls finish drop them into a big pot of simmering tomato sauce.  De-glaze the pan with a little red wine and add the drippings to the tomato sauce for some extra flavor.

Simple Tomato Sauce:
One #10 (the large one) can of crushed tomatoes
One 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 medium onion finely diced
6 cloves garlic finely diced
1/2 cup good red wine
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon of sugar
salt & pepper to taste

Heat up a little oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat.  Cook the onion until translucent.  Add in the garlic and cook until fragrant.  Add in all the other ingredients and simmer for at least 1 hour.  Pull the bay leaves out before serving.

These meat balls make excellent sandwiches too!