Spaghetti and Meatballs? Kinda

Here's a new twist on spaghetti and meatballs. I found the recipe in a magazine I subscribe to called Cuisine At Home. I seem to find a lot of good recipes in this magazine. There are no ads in this publication, just recipes and great photos of food. I really like it. This is the April 2010 issue.

The meatball recipe is really easy and quick to make and has a lot of room for modification. You could totally add different spices, fresh vegetables like spinach, bell pepper or mushrooms to have a different taste. You could also make them with ground turkey or chicken. Although, they were really good as is.

Here's how the meatballs look with just plain spaghetti.

But, there's a separate recipe in this issue for Meatball Strogonoff. The recipe calls for egg noodles but I used spaghetti instead (because that's what I had in the pantry). The strogonoff recipe was really good, not heavy at all and has fresh, bright flavor thanks to the lemon and dill. Here are the meatballs simmering in the yummy sauce.

And when it was all done, the final dish, ready to eat.
It was really good and I will definitely make this again and recommend it to clients. This one is a keeper!










Mini Meatballs
2 strips bacon, diced
1/4 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 lb ground beef sirloin
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a broiler pan with nonstick spray.

Saute bacon in skillet over medium-high heat until starting to crisp. Remove to paper-towel lined plate. Remove all but 1 tbsp of fat.

Saute onion in same skillet in reserved drippings over medium heat until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute.

Combine beef, bacon, onion mixture, bread crumbs, parsley, paprika, salt and pepper in large bowl. Stir in beaten egg. Form into 1-inch meatballs and place on broiler pan. Bake about 10 minutes, until fully cooked.

Makes 28 meatballs. 168 calories for 7 meatballs.

Sauce for Meatball Strogonoff (or Spaghetti and Meatball Strogonoff)

1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
1 cup diced onion
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (omit if you don't like spicy)
4 cups egg noodles (or whatever pasta you'd like)
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp coarse-grain mustard
1/4 sour cream (I used low-fat)
1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped

Saute mushrooms in 1 tbsp oil in nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove and save for later.

Saute onion, paprika and cayenne in remaining oil in same skillet until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Deglaze skillet with wine, simmer until liquid is nearly evaporated. Sprinkle flour over onions and stir.

Whisk in broth. Add lemon juice and mustard. Simmer until thick, 8-10 minutes. Stir in cooked mushrooms, sour cream, dill and meatballs. Season with salt and pepper.

Prepare noodles according to package directions. Spoon sauce and meatballs over noodles.