Caramelized Onion Meatballs & Spaghetti

For New Year's Eve in Filipino culture long types of food is served in abundance to promote a long healthy life in the coming year and round foods welcomes good luck all year round. I contributed Spaghetti & Meatballs, which isn't Filipino, but a dish we enjoy in our family all the time and perfectly fitted for the occasion.

The meatballs were a hit and it was so good that I actually started craving them again a few nights ago haha.

Overall, I'm very happy with this recipe. Unlike the first time around, I decided to puree the onions and basil hoping to intensify the flavor a bit more and to ensure a nice juicy meatball. Good thing I did! Both versions are delicious though.

 Caramelized Onion Meatballs

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 cup caramelized onions (click here for recipe)
• 1/2 cup basil leaves chopped
• 1 cup italian bread crumbs
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• hefty pinch pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter

Cooking Directions

1. Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature.
2. In a blender, puree the caramelized onions, basil, salt, and pepper.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together egg and puree. Add in meat and breadcrumbs.
4. Form balls to desired size. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes.
5. In a large frying pan coated with a little bit of butter, sear meatballs until brown on all sides. Make sure to drain all excess oil after each batch.
6. Continue cooking in oven or for this particular dish, spaghetti sauce for another 15 minutes.

Unfortunately we ran out of whole wheat spaghetti pasta, so I had to work with some canton noodles instead. You may be more familiar with these if you eat Chinese takeout like Lo Mein. It's very similar looking to spaghetti, but it's got a lot more wheat in it so it's a little more heavy.

For the meatballs, I created a puree of caramelized onions and basil seasoned with salt & pepper of course. I used just regular store bought Italian bread crumbs and eggs to bind the ingredients together.

As you can tell, we use this pan quite a bit! Might be a good time for a replacement haha!

After refrigerating meatballs for at least 10 minutes, I browned them in the pan. Be sure to drain/spoon out some of that excess oil from the meatballs as you fry them and before adding the sauce.

Normally, I stick meatballs in the oven to continue cooking, for this dish I wanted the spaghetti sauce to be infused with some of that meaty flavor, so instead I finished cooking the meatballs in the pan with the sauce.

Get Your Feast On!

Hello Autumn! Bacon Infused Lasagna

I had originally planned on making just a very traditional style lasagna, simple enough. I saw a container of ricotta and immediately started prepping. The last thing I expected was to open the container halfway through layering to find dried fruits instead of cheese hehe. Luckily we still had a a lot of mozzarella, so problem solved. Not having butter was a different story. I wasn't sure if you could make bechamel sauce any other way. I figured fat is fat and bacon fat was the best solution hehe.

In the end, I did not make a traditional style lasagna, but a lasagna nonetheless.  It's funny because I don't even like ricotta cheese. My favorite lasagna recipe is by the Neely's. I posted about it a while back. I wasn't sure f the mozzarella on it's own would just taste bland, but the bacon flavor in the bechamel sauce made everything taste better. I also added fresh basil to cut through all the meatyness.

This is a great recipe to welcome the new season! Happy Fall!!

 I posted some pictures of the process. Hope you enjoy!

Step 1: Prepare bacon bechamel sauce and meat layer 

(browned ground beef and spahetti sauce)

Step 2: Prepare pasta sheets (Homemade Pasta Recipe)

START LAYERING!

Layer 1: Spaghetti Sauce

Layer 2: First pasta sheet

Layer 3: bechamel sauce and mozzarella cheese

Layer 4: FRESH BASIL! yuummmm

REPEAT LAYERING PROCESS!

Final Layer: Sprinkle top with extra cheese.

Then bake in 375 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes.
Top will be golden brown.

Get Your Feast On!

TOTD: Homemade Pasta Dough

TOTD = Tip of the Day

With the colder season approaching, I know I'll be craving the cozy warmth of hearty pasta dishes. Making pasta dough is very simple and chances are you already have the ingredients in your pantry! No special machinery needed. Just an old fashioned rolling pin :)

I have such sloppy handwriting! hehe

Homemade Pasta Dough

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons water

Cooking Directions

1. Add all ingredients into food process and blend for 30 seconds or until dough starts to form into a hoop around blades.
2. Knead until smooth.
3. Shape into a disc, plastic wrap tightly, and let rest for at least 20 minutes
4. When ready to use, roll out until about 1/16th inch or desired thickness.

whirly twirly!

I used a rolling pin, but if you have a pasta attachment, even easier!

Get Your Feast On!

Seitan & Broccoli Alfredo

A classic dish with a simple meat-free substitution. I'd never tried seitan before and although it tastes nothing like meat, I enjoyed it in this dish. I used a very simple alfredo recipe with a secret (well not really) ingredient to make it super creamy and rich :)

Does anyone eat seitan regularly? I would love some tips on how to incorporate it!!

 
Seitan & Broccoli Alfredo
Serves family of 7

- 1/2 stick butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1/2 package cream cheese ("secret" ingredient)
- 1/2 C parmesan cheese
- 2 C milk
- 2 C seitan chopped
- 1 16 oz package of frozen broccoli
- 24 oz rotini pasta (1 whole box)
- garlic powder to taste
- pinch of ground black pepper or to taste
- 1 1/2 tsp dried parsley (or fresh would be best)
- 1 handful of chopped fresh basil

Cook pasta according to box instructions. Drain and add seitan and frozen broccoli to thaw. Set aside.

In a saucepan, melt butter, then add flour. Stir until it forms a paste. Slowly add 1 cup of milk while continuously stirring. Add cream cheese and garlic powder. Sauce will rapidly start to thicken. Slowly thin out with 2nd cup of milk. Add parmesan and continue cooking until desired thickness. Take off from heat and add cracked black pepper.

Toss with pasta, seitan, and broccoli. Serve.

Feast On!