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.