Day 71 – Girlie moments with my Daughter… making meatballs and spaghetti
Girlie moments with my daughter are not easy to come by. They are reserved for moments when she is ready to let down her guard and not worry about anyone else. They are only allowed when she is not in competition, not in conflict, and when she feels she is ready to be a true girl. But when they come, they are wonderful.
We had one such moment last night. After school, I was ready to start baking a cake with her, do something creative, or just chill. No way. Her planned schedule ran to blobbing in front of the tv, and nothing else. So rather than start WW3, I cooked on my own, and she watched tv on her own. Actually it’s often a tactic that works with her. Give her the space, and then she comes back and actually, really wants to help. And it came later at teatime, when she really seriously wanted to cook the dinner.
Of course it was a night when I was due out within the next 45 minutes (ie not convenient), but she really really wanted to chop the onions, do the garlic, mould the mince balls etc etc. And who am I to argue. So we created an old recipe of mine, handed down from the mother of an even older boyfriend of mine. And yes it hit the 10/10 score for spaghetti and meatballs, and was a huge hit with the whole family (and I wondered why I let it sit in an old recipe notebook of mine for all those years, along with a lot of other student/early working life experiences – lesson learnt, time to share!).
So here it is, the hugely successful Meatballs in Tomato Sauce recipe, which will guarantee to keep the whole family happy and without hunger (particularly in the quantities that I made it last night -> thank god for freezers!)
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Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
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Ingredients – Meatballs
- 1 kg mince
- 4 eggs
- 100g parmesan cheese, grated
- 100g fresh white breadcrumbs
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tsp oregano
- pepper
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Ingredients – Sauce
- 2 large onions chopped
- 4 garlic cloves chopped
- 2 large tins of tomatoes
- 1 jar of passata
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- pepper
- some herbs
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Directions
Mix ingredients for the meatballs, roll into small balls and fry lightly in a frying pan. In a large saucepan or casserole dish, heat the oil and fry the onion until soft and lightly coloured. Add the garlic and fry for 2-3 minutes. Then add the tomatoes, passata, sugar and seasoning, and bring to a simmering point. Carefully put in the meatballs and depending on sixe simmer for 1/2 hr to 1 hr.
Cook the spaghetti, and serve with the meatball sauce on top, sprinkled with fresh basil and parmesan.
Delish!
This recipe will feed 4 hungry people, and give you enough to freeze for at least the 4 to 6 people!!
And yes, I was late for the night out, but I have great girlfriends who also understand flexible priorities, love you!
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Life with Lizzi 