Spaghetti and Meatballs

 

It seems as if it's pasta month on Mystery Lovers Kitchen! Here is another recipe to enjoy--old-fashioned spaghetti and meatballs. I've made plenty of meatballs before--Swedish meatballs, Greek meatballs, meatballs Stroganoff, but I don't recall ever making meatballs and spaghetti! This recipe is adapted from the Damn Delicious web site. I cut the recipe in half because there were only two of us and even then I had plenty leftover for another meal. I made a few alterations out of necessity--I only had ground beef so that is what I used. I didn't have any parsley or fresh basil either but I forged ahead and it was delicious! Don't be tempted to leave out the fennel seeds--you'd be surprised at how much flavor they impart. And you can add more or less red pepper flakes according to your taste. It was a bit spicy (hubby can't tolerate too much heat) so next time I might dial it back a bit although I enjoyed it the way it was. 

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan

⅓ cup Panko

⅓ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

½ cup milk

1 large egg

1 small shallot, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 pound lean ground beef

1 pound ground pork

for the sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

½ teaspoon fennel seeds

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

⅓ cup dry red wine

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (I used whole tomatoes and crushed them with my hands. Try to find San Marzano tomatoes if you can.)

1 (15-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon sugar

½ cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1 pound spaghetti

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Prepare your baking sheet by lining with foil or parchment paper and spraying with cooking spray.  Set aside while the you make the meatballs and the oven preheats.

Combine Parmesan, Panko, parsley, milk, egg, shallot and garlic and season with 1 tsp. salt and ½ tsp. pepper (or to taste.) Let sit for 10 minutes.

Add beef and ground pork to bowl and mix thoroughly.  

 

Form into meatballs, approximately 1 inch to 1 ½ inches.  Place on prepared baking sheet. Bake until browned, about 12 to 15 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, make the sauce:

Heat olive oil and sauté onions until translucent.  Add garlic, Italian seasonings, fennel and crushed red pepper.  Sauté until fragrant—about one minute. 

Stir in wine and deglaze pan, scraping up any browned bits.  Add tomatoes, sugar and salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for approximately 20 minutes until sauce thickens.

 

Stir in meatballs, cover and simmer approximately 30 minutes.  Stir in basil and salt and pepper to taste.

 

Serve over cooked pasta.

 

** Remember the sauce waits for the pasta, not the other way around. Begin to cook pasta when sauce is very nearly done.

 The Open Book Series

When murder taints writer-in-residence Penelope Parish’s charming British bookshop, she must follow the clues to catch a killer before tempers boil over.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

 Family fireworks lead to murder in the new Cranberry Cove Mystery from USA Today bestselling author Peg Cochran!

The Fourth of July always means endless celebrations in Cranberry Cove, and this year Monica and Greg have the added pleasure of spending it with Monica’s college roommate, Kelly Cargill. When they join Kelly and her family to watch the fireworks, it’s all very exciting—until the elderly matriarch of the family dies on the spot. Then evidence comes to light that she was poisoned, and Monica promises to do what she can to catch the culprit.

Just about everyone in Kelly’s family wanted to get their hands on what was sure to be a sizable inheritance. But Monica also discovers that one of them was trying to hide a messy love affair the older woman had discovered, and that the victim’s caretaker may have wanted revenge for enduring years of mistreatment. And just as more secrets surface and the clues begin to fall into place, Monica realizes that as she’s closing in on the killer, the killer is closing in on her . . .

Includes a mouthwatering cookie recipe!

Cranberry Cove #10 coming Summer 2024!

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BARNES & NOBLE

 

My article on the Enduring Appeal of Cozy Mysteries  

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Welcome Guest Terry Ambrose: Author of Clues in the Sand + #BookGiveaway

To learn more 

or buy, click here.

Please join me in welcoming author Terry Ambrose back to the kitchen! 

Terry has news for us about the launch of his terrific new mystery series. Leave a comment on his post, and you will be entered to win one of his books. Here's Terry to tell you more about it... 

--Cleo

⛵

Thanks for having me as a guest here in the kitchen! In fact, kitchens seem to be a more commonplace for me since I started writing the Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mystery series. 

The series features sort-of-single dad Rick Atwood and his precocious daughter Alex. They’re your basic unstoppable crime-solving duo, with Alex being the unstoppable half and her dad doing most of the crime solving. Unless you listen to Alex, who will tell you she’s the one who gives her dad his best ideas. Ah, the confidence and wisdom of a ten-year-old!

Terry Ambrose

In Clues in the Sand, Rick has a B&B to run, a killer to find, and is trying desperately to keep Alex from sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong—in the murder investigation. 

The recipe I’ve brought along today is for spaghetti and meatballs. The basic recipe had been in my family for years—until I lost it. Fortunately, the loss came right after I’d made the recipe and could reconstruct it. Now, it’s stored safely in digital format (in two different places) so I won’t lose it again!

I hope you’ll stop by to learn more about me and the Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mystery series at terryambrose.com

By Dr.Conati [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons

Spaghetti and Meatballs by Terry Ambrose

This spaghetti and meatballs recipe is sure to be a hit with any spaghetti lovers. The meatballs are more work than a meat sauce, but they are well worth the effort! Plus, this recipe has no added salt, so for those on a low -sodium diet, it works well. You can easily make this recipe gluten-free by using gluten-free bread crumbs.

Prep Time: 20 minutes 

Cook Time: 1-2 hours

Ingredients:

Sauce

1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 – 6 oz.cans tomato paste
1 – 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 – #2can crushed tomatoesThis is a 1 lb 4 oz can.
2 cups water
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. black pepper

Meatballs

1 lb. ground turkey
2 tsp. Worscestershire sauce
1 egg (beaten)
1/2 cup bread crumbs (seasoned)You can make your own with the heels of loaves of bread!
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

Sauce

1. In a large pot, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil and sauté onion until soft. 

2. When onions are soft, combine the rest of the sauce ingredients over medium heat. Stir occasionally and then simmer on low for at least one hour. 

Meatballs

1. In a large bowl, combine all meatball ingredients. 

2. Heat oil in large skillet. 

3. Roll meatballs by taking a small amount of meat and rolling between your palms. A good size is about the size of a golf ball. Add this batch of meatballs to oil. Turn regularly to avoid having them flatten. Brown on all sides. 

4. When all meatballs have been browned, add them to the sauce to continue cooking.

Terry Ambrose

TERRY AMBROSE has written more than a dozen books, several of which have been award finalists. In 2014, his thriller, Con Game, won the San Diego Book Awards for Best Action-Thriller. He’s currently working on the Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mystery series.

📖

#BookGiveaway!

To learn more
or buy, click here.

Leave a comment on this post with a way to contact you (email address or Facebook name), and you will be entered to win a print or e-book (your choice) of Terry's Clues in the Sand.

This giveaway is now over. Thanks to everyone for participating, and thanks especially to Terry for joining us this week at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen.

Congrats to our winner:

Kara M.

⛵

Herbalicious Spaghetti and Meatballs #recipe @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: Some days I simply crave good old-fashioned spaghetti and meatballs. But most traditional versions are loaded with sodium and thus off-limits to me. But this enormous basil plant was calling to me: Lucy! Lucy! spaghetti! spaghetti!

How could I refuse? I've tried a few other recipes, but this one really stood out. (And my hub loved it too!) I happened to have some low-sodium corn muffins in the freezer, but you can improvise if you're not so lucky.)

Ingredients for the meatballs

1 pound good quality ground beef
Two low-sodium corn muffins (or 2 slices bread)
one egg
1/4 cup milk
One half onion, chopped finely
One clove garlic, ditto
One half teaspoon dried oregano
Freshly ground pepper
Half a teaspoon Jane's Crazy mixed-up pepper

 

Mix all ingredients together and fashion the mixture into meatballs, size of your choice. Place these on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Turn them halfway through so both sides have a chance to brown. Set these aside on paper towels to drain.

 

For the sauce

24 ounce jar unsalted crushed tomatoes (I love the local Bishop's Orchards brand)
One onion, chopped
One large clove garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Three-quarter teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes, or to taste
4 to 6 large basil leaves, shredded
1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste

 

 

Sauté the garlic and onion until soft, and then add the oregano and pepper. After a few minutes of simmering, add the tomatoes. Cook these ingredients together for about 30 to 45 minutes, then add the basil and simmer again. 

 

Taste the sauce to see if it's to your liking – I added a teaspoon sugar.

This amount of sauce is appropriate for about half the meatballs, so add the balls to the sauce and simmer again. (I froze the remainder for another day.) If you were serving a larger crowd, you might double the tomato sauce and add all the meatballs. 


The flavors will meld together nicely if you make this a day ahead. Serve on good-quality pasta with fresh grated Parmesan on the side. And something green of course.

The seventh Key West mystery, KILLER TAKEOUT, is on bookshelves everywhere. What about yours?

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and Instagram!

Spaghetti Sauce with or without Meatballs #lowsodium #recipe @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: Finding a decent lower sodium red pasta sauce is harder than you might think. In the past, I've used Classico red pepper sauce when a shortcut was needed for an Italian dish. But the sodium count in that sauce is higher than I should be eating. I tried a few low or no salt sauces and found them lacking in taste. Honestly? They were terrible. So what's a girl to do? Make her own, in a big batch, in order to freeze some for the future. And keep in mind, you can adjust ingredients as you prefer.

Ingredients for the sauce

Three large cans diced tomatoes in juice, no salt added
One large can crushed tomatoes in sauce
Two large onions
3 to 4 cloves of garlic
Five carrots
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon or more hot red pepper flakes
Two bay leaves
1 tablespoon sugar, more to taste
1/2 cup red wine
A handful of fresh parsley, chopped
8 to 10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
One can tomato paste

Grind the carrots in your food processor, followed by the onions and garlic. Sauté all this in a large pot with 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil. When the vegetables are soft, add the tomato products, plus oregano hot pepper flakes, bay leaves, and red wine. 

Once that mixture has simmered for 15 minutes, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of sugar depending on your taste, and the chopped parsley and basil.

Simmer the sauce for 1 to 2 hours. I used some of it for spaghetti and meatballs, and saved the rest for a giant pan of stuffed shells.

Here's my recipe for low-sodium meatballs:
 
1 1/4 pound organic ground beef
Three squares of low sodium cornbread (I had some in my freezer, made using my regular cornbread recipe, only replacing no sodium baking powder for the regular baking powder, and cutting the salt)
One egg
1 teaspoon lower sodium Worcestershire sauce (I like the Annie's organic brand, 75 mg per teaspoon)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
One large garlic clove, crushed
 
Crumble the cornbread. Mix all the ingredients together, taking care to distribute everything so you don't leave little packets of garlic or spices. In a 350 oven, bake the meatballs until browned, about half an hour. I did mine on a cookie tray lined with parchment, so the cleanup was very easy. Turn the meatballs halfway through so both sides brown.

Mix the cooked meatballs with the sauce and serve with a little fresh grated Parmesan. (I'm sorry to say that we ate this dinner before I remembered to take a photo:). 

All the tomato products added up to about 1500 mg of sodium, and there are probably 15 servings in the pot. Compare that to the sauce I formerly used, Classico spicy red pepper, 310 mg for half a cup. 1500 for the jar, which serves five.

KILLER TAKEOUT is coming in April, but available for pre-order today!

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and Instagram!