Sometimes you just want food. When you've had a bad day you want your favorite food, otherwise known as comfort food. Now it's different for everyone but I've always liked pasta. Specifically spaghetti and meatballs. Delicious, and simple, this dish never fails to make me feel better. And I've decided to share my favorite recipe for it with you today -- but feel free to make it your own!
Spaghetti and Meatballs a la Sabrina
Ingredients:
Angel Hair Pasta (I usually use Barilla Pasta brand but that's because that's what my mom uses)
Ragu Spaghetti Sauce (there's ton to choose from so choose your favorite! I like to change it up for a new taste).
Meatballs:
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup bread crumbs (Store bought or homemade it doesn't matter)
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
Black Pepper
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese (grated or shredded)
1 Tbsp. Parsley flakes
1 pound of ground meat (I use Italian sausage but you can use any beef, pork, turkey, chicken etc.)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
Garlic (opt).
To Make the Meatballs:
1. Combine the milk and breadcrumbs: Pour the milk over the breadcrumbs, and set aside the breadcrumbs aside to soak up the milk. They're gonna look soggy and kind of gross but go with it okay?
2. Whisk the egg, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese, and parsley: I recommend using a large bowl because it gets messy very easily. Do the egg first, and then whisk in the salt and pepper. Last do the Parmesan and parsley.
3. Combine the egg/cheese mixture with the meat: Another good reason to use a big bowl -- you don't need to get another one dirty. Use your hands and mix the egg stuff into the meat. It's gooey but kind of fun?
4. Add the onions and the soggy breadcrumbs: Add the onions and breadcrumbs to the meat mixture. Knead the mixture to mix it together. If having raw meat and stuff touch your hands, grosses you out use gloves.
5. Form all the meat into balls (hence meatballs): Pinch off some meat and gently roll it in your hands to make a meatball. If you use smaller amounts of meat, you'll get more meatballs but obviously they'll be smaller. Vice versa for large quantities of meat.
If you want to bake them in the oven, set it to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and space the meatballs on the a greased cookie sheet. It helps if the cookie sheet has edges so the meatballs don't fall off.
If you want to bake them in your marina sauce, make your sauce simmer or boil first before adding as many meatballs will fit in a large saucepan. Cover and let them cook for about 30 minutes.
I like to double the recipe and make a lot, and then freeze the extras so I can warm them up for a quick comfort meal.
To make your pasta and sauce
Follow the directions on the box for the pasta. Usually this means boiling water and then adding the amount of pasta needed.
I'm usually lazy so my sauce is just Ragu poured from the bottle. Sometimes I like to mix it up by adding chopped mushrooms, tomatoes and onions. Or I'll add a bunch of random spices. I'm not picky about my pasta sauce.
And that's it! My favorite comfort meal. I recommend adding some bread to go with the pasta and of course cheese to go on top of all the deliciousness. Enjoy!
