Garlic Parmesan Spaghetti with Turkey and Italian Sausage Meatballs

 Lately, I've been looking for some easy meals that my kids will eat...they are THAT picky. I'm not the mom who will cater to them; they're going to eat what I put in front of them or they don't, but I'm not cooking any more than what I do. I may be mean, but I am not a short-order cook. Anyhoo, I found this recipe on A Wicked Whisk and oh my goodness, it was fabulous. Of course I made changes to it. I was originally going to follow the directions but I couldn't find ground chicken and I had this package of Italian sausage sitting around; I figured why the heck not? So good, makes a lot, and reheats well.

Garlic Parmesan Spaghetti with Turkey and Italian Sausage Meatballs

(adapted from 'A Wicked Whisk)

Servings: 6-8                Prep Time: approx. 30 mins.                  Cook Time: 35-45 mins.

Ingredients:

Note* when I say "chop” garlic, I mean I used a chopper.

Meatballs

·       1 lb. ground turkey

·       1 lb. mild Italian sausage *

·       2 eggs

·       approx. ¼ cup of milk *

·       around 1 ¼ cups panko breadcrumbs

·       1 tsp. salt

·       2 Tbsp. dried parsley

·       1 Tbsp. garlic powder

·       ½ tsp. cayenne pepper

·       1 Tbsp. onion powder

·       1 tsp. black pepper

·       1 cup pecorino romano cheese

Spaghetti

·       1 lb. spaghetti noodles

·       2 Tbsp. olive oil

·       10 Tbsp. butter

·       1 small head of garlic; chopped.

·       1 ½ tsp. crushed red pepper

·       1 cup parmesan cheese *

·       2 Tbsp. dried parsley

·       1 Tbsp. lemon juice

** Notes **

*1. I’m sure turkey or chicken Italian sausage would work.

*2. I eyeball everything, so I am guessing here.

*3. looks like a lot, but it’s a lot of pasta and this is the sauce.

*4. I used regular ol’ Kraft in a can (take away my Italian girl status here).

Directions:

1.     Pre-heat oven to 400⸰, use a large sheet pan and cover with either parchment paper or tin foil, and spray with cooking spray.

2.     Throw all of the meatball ingredients into a large bowl. Mix with the best tool you have (aka, your hands; seriously, just mush it all together). Roll into about 1-inch meatballs and place on pan. I got a bunch on one pan; space about ½ inch apart (they will shrink). Cook for around 30-45 mins., depending on how crispy you like your meatballs.

3.     While those cook, put water in a large pot and set to boil. Add salt to the water and boil noodles according to package instructions. Drain.

4.     In a small pot, add olive oil and 2 Tbsp. of the butter along with the garlic and red pepper. Cook on medium until fragrant; making sure not to burn the garlic. Turn down to med-low and add rest of butter.

5.     Once melted, add into pot with spaghetti, add parmesan, parsley, lemon juice and toss. Add meatballs and toss those in too.

6.     Eat! So good AND my picky kids ate it too.

Spicy Beer Cheese Soup

 Hey all, since I have had many requests since posting this on my IG and FB, I figured that I would go ahead and type this recipe up here to make it easier for sharing. I am usually horrible about posting but I'll attempt to keep up with posting stuff (no promises).

This made 4-5 large bowls but because I baked pretzels on the side, it would probably feed more like 6-7?

Spicy Beer Cheese Soup

(adapted from 'A Flavor Journal')

Servings: 4-5                 Prep Time: approx. 10-15 mins.             Cook Time: 45 mins.

Ingredients:

Note* when I say "chop finely", I used my food processor because I am lazy

·       1 stick salted butter

·       4 stalks celery (chopped finely)

·       3 carrots (chopped finely)

·       1 medium white onion (chopped finely)

·       1 TBSP fresh garlic (minced-so you can use jarred or about 4 large cloves)

·       3 medium-sized jalapenos (seeds removed & chopped finely)

·       3/4 cup all-purpose flour

·       2 bottles of a light beer (I used Bud Light because that's what I had on hand)

·       3 cups chicken stock

·       1 TBSP. chicken base (I use 'Better Than Bouillon' Roasted Chicken flavored base)

·       3 bay leaves

·       1 TBSP. whole black peppercorns

·       1/2 TBSP. caraway seeds

·       1 1/2 cups milk (room temperature)

·       1 1/2 cups half and half (room temperature)

·       1 - 1 1/2 cups of white cheddar cheese; shredded **

·       salt and pepper to taste

** I used this awesome Irish aged white-cheddar I got at Costco

Directions:

1. In a deep pot, melt butter over medium heat. Cook all the veggies until soft and tender (celery, carrots, onions, garlic, and jalapenos).

2. Once veggies are soft, add flour and stir constantly to avoid burning. Let this "paste" like thing cook for a few minutes to remove that flour taste. Trust me, the paste is needed.

3. Slowly whisk in the beer and chicken stock. Add bay leaves, caraway seeds, and peppercorns.

4. Simmer for about 30 minutes.

5. Add the milk and half and half slowly and bring to a rapid boil. Once it starts boiling, lower heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

6. Slowly whisk in shredded cheese until melted. If the mix is too thick, you can add additional stock, but it should be fine.

7. Strain this mixture through a fine-meshed sieve and put into another pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot and with bread or pretzels to dip.