Spaghetti and Meatballs

I love pasta. I love it. A lot. I know that pastas bad for you because it's all carbs or whatever, but I'm totally addicted. Gimme a big old bowl of pasta and tomato sauce and I'm a happy girl. Last weekend, after the barbeque, we had a lot of left over ground beef. Usually when that happens, I just make some meat sauce to throw on top of pasta, but I wanted to do something different this time. So I made spaghetti and meatballs! And they were sooooo good. I can safely say that this is MY recipe. Usually the things I post on this blog are slightly altered recipes I found online. But this time, I looked up cooking times and changed the recipe so much, it had absolutely nothing in common except ground beef and Parmesan. So here's my original meatball recipe!

1 lb ground beef

Plenty of Seasoning mix (Whatever your favorite is, I used pappy spice. Just add however much you want really.)

chopped onion (optional, I just think it would work really well with this)

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 egg

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 cup oats

Mix together the beef, seasoning, onion (if you're using it), and worcestershire. Then blend in the egg, cheese, and oats. The oats are how I made this gluten free, normally you would use bread crumbs. If you don't want to use oats or don't have them, you can totally use bread crumbs. Roll into small meatballs and place them on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake in 400F oven for 20-25 minutes. Using lean beef is better here; I didn't use lean beef and there was some gross fat on the pan after I baked them. Luckily the fat stayed on the pan and the meatballs were delicious. While the meatballs are cooking, heat up some marinara sauce and season to taste. I usually use jarred sauce then add: Basil, Oregano, Bay leaves, and sometimes Thyme. Let the marinara sauce cook for a while so the flavors come together.

When the meatballs are done, add them to the sauce so they stay juicy and delicious. When the pasta's done, grab a big old helping and dig in!

XOXO

Natalie