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The Ultimate Spaghetti and Meatballs
Prep time: 20 minutes; Cooking time: 50 minutes

-4 c. Pomodoro Sauce (recipe below) or good-quality jarred sauce, heated
-1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
-1 small onion, chopped, about 1/3 c.
-1 clove garlic, chopped
-2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
-1/2 c. milk
-2 thick slices firm white bread, crusts removed, cut into cubes (about 1 cup)
-3/4 lb each  ground beef and ground pork
-1 egg
-1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus more for garnish
-1 tsp. salt
-1/4 tsp. pepper
-4 oz. grated mozzarella cheese (1 cup)
-1/2 c. basil leaves
-1 lb. spaghetti

    Make Pomodoro Sauce.
    Heat 2 Tbsp. of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and parsley and cook until the vegetables soften, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
    Pour milk over bread and let soak.
    In a large bowl, combine the meats, egg, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.
    Squeeze excess milk out of bread; add bread to the meat mixture along with the onion mixture. Gently combine all of the ingredients. Shape the mixture into 12 balls, about 1.75" in diameter.
    Preheat the oven to 350 F. Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in the same nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs and cook until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer meatballs to a 9x9" baking dish. Spoon 2 cups of the Pomodoro Sauce over the meatballs. Sprinkle with mozzarella and half of the basil leaves. Bake 30 minutes.
    Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions, reserving some of the cooking liquid. Drain pasta and toss with the remaining 2 cups Pomodoro Sauce, adding cooking liquid if necessary. Spoon meatballs over pasta; garnish with the remaining basil leaves and Parmesan Cheese.
 
Pomodoro Sauce:
-2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
-1 med. onion, chopped
-3 cloves garlic, chopped
-2 cans (28 oz each) whole, peeled tomatoes, drained and crushed by hand, juices reserved
-1 tsp. salt
-1/4 tsp. pepper
-1/4 c. fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces

    Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Carefully add tomatoes and about 3/4 c. of the reserved juices. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until sauce is thick, about 15 minutes. Continue to simmer for an additional 20 to 30 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up the tomatoes, and adding more reserved liquid if necessary. Stir in fresh basil.
Makes 4 cups.

*Audrey's notes on this recipe: I used "good-quality jarred sauce" because I right now I just don't have the time to make the sauce myself. I also forgot to buy the thick, firm white bread, so I used a few slices of what I had in the pantry. I ran out of eggs, so I didn't squeeze as much of the milk out. The meatballs didn't stay together as well as they would have with the egg, but they were still freakin' tasty. I was also having issues finding decent looking basil, so I left that out.


Beef and Mushroom Stew
-1/5 tsp. olive oil (divided use)
-1 lb. beef top round, trimmed of all fat and cut into 3/4" cubes
-1 onion, chopped
-1 leek, chopped (white part only)
-1 clove garlic, minced
-12 oz. mushrooms, sliced (button, small portobello, shiitake or a combination)
-2 stalks celery, chopped
-3 carrots, halved and sliced
-1/2 tsp. pepper
-1/2 tsp. dried thyme
-1/2 tsp. paprika
-1/4 tsp. salt
-1 bay leaf
-1 (14.5 ounce) can reduced sodium beef broth
-1/2 c. red wine
-1/2 c. frozen peas
-1 tablespoon cornstarch
-3/4 cup hot cooked brown rice
-chopped green onions

    Heat 1 tsp. oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add beef cubes and cook, stirring frequently, until browned. Drain and set beef aside.
    Add remaining oil to Dutch oven. Add onion, leek and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is tender. Add mushrooms and saute, stirring frequently, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in celery, carrots, seasonings, broth, wine and browned beef. Heat to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour or until beef is tender. Stir in peas. Increase heat to medium. Dissolve cornstarch in 1 tablespoon cold water; blend cornstarch mixture into stew and cook, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes or until slightly thickened and bubbly.
    To serve, ladle stew into individual serving bowls. Top each serving with 2 Tbs. hot cooked brown rice then garnish with chopped green onions. Makes 6 servings.

*Audrey's notes on this recipe: Aha! So there's where my beef broth went. I accidentally only bought 1 can. I wasn't very successful on my shopping this week. I made this in a stock pot. I don't know what crazy asian midgets they're serving these 6 servings to, but I barely got 4 out of it (see way back post about the stew and James's friends over). Don't forget to remove the bay leaf when serving!