This snow day calls for spaghetti and meatballs...

     Another 2 feet of snow means a snow day in Connecticut...again!  It feels like there is a new storm brewing every few days.  I always look forward to the first few snowfalls of the year.  I love the clean look everything has before the snow is tainted with sand and footprints.  I also love the way the trees look when the branches are covered in snow.  Unfortunately, this part of a snow storm does not last that long.  Then reality sets in and shoveling has to get done and the excitement of a snow day settles and I find myself stir crazy!  What better way to cure the boredom than to cook?

     Last night one of Arnauld's co-workers mentioned that he was going to spend the night at his parents house and have spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.  This sounded good so Arnauld and I made a quick trip to the grocery store to get some ingredients so that we could make our own spaghetti and meatball dinner on this fine snow day.  Over the holidays my Uncle Tony mentioned a Giada recipe for tomato sauce that he has tried and really liked.  So that's on the agenda for later this evening.  I also had some ground chicken in the fridge so I've already mixed up a batch of chicken meatballs that I'm excited to get into the oven later tonight.

Chicken Meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1 med onion minced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup uncooked instant oatmeal
• 1 eggs
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp  basil
• 1 tsp  oregano
• 1 tsp  parsley
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Method
1. Mince your onion and garlic or throw them in a food processor if you don't want to chop them. Add all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix together.
2. Form into equal sized meatballs.
3. Cover your sheet or pan with tin foil for easy clean up.
4. Bake at 425F for  20-25 minutes. Don't overcook or they will be dry. Break one open and make sure the center is cooked through before serving or cooling to freeze.

*I made 10 rather large meatballs with this recipe

Simple Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
• 4 to 6 basil leaves
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional

Method

1. In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and simmer covered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.
2. Add half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

The Taste Test
    I'm not the greatest fan of Italian dishes, possibly because I take it for granted.  I have a straight from Italy Grandma who makes hundreds of jars of tomato sauce every summer and spaghetti and other pasta dishes are a part of every meal she makes.

     This sauce was really easy to make.  I didn't end up food processing half the batch because I added the meatballs before I remembered that step.  I actually liked the slight chunks of vegetables that were left in the sauce.  We had a lot of extra sauce since I only cooked half a pound of spaghetti.  I poured the leftover sauce into a freezer bag for another snowy day.

     The meatballs came out really soft, I think because they were baked rather than fried in a skillet.  They tasted good with the sauce.  Overall, these recipes are keepers for the few times a decade we may feel like tomato sauce and meatballs!