Spaghetti and Meatballs and Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette

It was snowing on Saturday night, and Alex and I had been lazy champs for the day, and didn't feel like venturing into the cold. However, we still needed dinner. I was in the mood for pasta, and checked the cupboards, and found I had about the right ingredients to come up with something. All these recipes are again from the Great Food Fast book from Martha. 

Vinaigrette

1/4C white wine vinegar

1 TBS dijon mustard

coarse salt and ground pepper

pinch of sugar

3/4 C extra virgin olive oil

I also added a clove of pressed garlic

and the juice of half a lemon

Whisk the ingredients together, serve. I think I was supposed to slowly add the olive oil, but then I accidently poured it all in at once. It worked, and I doubt you could tell the difference. 

I love this new dressing! It was super easy, there's lots of variations, I will certainly make this again. We also had lots leftover, and it keeps, which is great! 

Meatballs 

1 egg

1 medium onion finely chopped

2/3 C breadcrumbs

1/2 C finely grated parmesan

1/2 C chopped parsley

1 lb ground turkey (We only had beef, so I used that instead)

I also added some garlic powder and oregano

In a large bowl whisk together the egg, 1.25 tsp salt. Stir in the breadcrumbs, onion, cheese, and parsley. Add the meat, mix until combined, make the mixture into 1.5 inch balls. (Upon typing up the recipe, I realized it called for milk, I certainly didn't add milk. Opps. However, all worked out fine)

Add the meatballs to the skillet with the sauce. Simmer over medium heat until cooked through.  

Sauce. The meatballs had a different sauce to go with them in the cookbook, but I didn't have the ingredients, so, I made a different sauce. Also from the same cookbook. 

Easy Chunky Tomato Sauce

3 TBS olive oil

1 large onion chopped

coarse salt and ground pepper

2 cans (28 ounces each) of diced tomatoes. I only had one 14 ounce can. So, I improvised and halved the recipe. The other 14 ounces, I used fresh chopped plum tomatoes and a bit of water. 

1/2 tsp dried thyme (I also added some garlic powder, oregano, parsley, etc)

3 garlic cloves (This part I didn't half) 

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, .5 tsp salt and pepper, and cook until softened. 

Add the tomatoes with their juice and the spices, simmer stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened, 20-25 minutes. 

Overall, the meatballs were awesome. The sauce was pretty good, though could have been thicker, and I think I would like it less chunky, but that's my own fault. Alex said he liked the meatballs but that the sauce tasted a bit bland at first, but after a few bites, said it was growing on him.