As he is working today, we will actually be eating his birthday dinner tomorrow night.So I am posting about tomorrow's dinner today, in order to leave Saturday's post for BFMH series. Deal with it. I can retroactively post. Gotta love technology. Moving on...
The In Laws here in town this past weekend (which was super duper great) and it turns out that M.i.L. makes Spaghetti and Meatballs for Papa G for his birthday every year. Unfortunately, M.i.L. had misplaced her recipe. Most fortunately though, I was able to find it online as it is a Martha Stewart Recipe! Needless to say, the Papa G's birthday has been saved and all will be right in the world this Hatch Day coming for him.
All this talk about Spaghetti and Meatballs, as well as talking about Swedish Meatballs (we went to Ikea), has gotten Husband asking for the same meal for his birthday. Alas, I am doing a low-carb diet so pasta (even whole wheat) isn't in the plans for me quite yet. I asked if I could do a Spaghetti Squash version of the dish and Husband, ever the sweetest man I know, said that would be dandy.
Here are the recipes I have found for Low-Carb Spaghetti Squash and Roasted Garlic and Herb Meatballs.
Spaghetti Squash and Sauce
Ingredients
2 whole spaghetti squash
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
4 cup prepared marinara sauce <tomato basil a la Trader Joe's for me> (sub out for an appropriate option if you're vegan)
Method
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Split squash in half and scrap out seeds.
Line an oven tray with aluminum foil.
Season spaghetti squash with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Place flesh side down and roast for 30 - 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat marinara sauce in a large saute pan.
When squash is cool enough to handle, using a large kitchen spoon, scrape the strands of squash from the inside of the skin. Toss the squash in the pan with the sauce until it is hot enough to serve.
Roasted Garlic and Herb Meatballs (don't use if you are vegetarian or vegan, duh)
Ingredients
1 bulb of garlic
1 tablespoon of butter
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
1 pound of ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped shallots (I used onions)
1 egg
1 teaspoon of dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper (white preferred)
1/4 cup olive oil
Method
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut 1/4 inch off the top of the bulb of garlic to expose the cloves beneath, but don't peel the garlic as you want to roast it in the skin.
Place bulb in a piece of aluminum foil, place butter on top, pour lemon juice over the garlic and sprinkle with salt.
Bring up sides of the foil and twist together to close.
Cook for 60 minutes or until garlic cloves are soft and golden in color. Allow to cool.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Combine turkey, shallots, egg, rosemary, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
use a fork to remove cloves from skin and add to mixture. Mix well. Roll into approximately 15 meatballs.
Place meatballs in a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil over the top. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Turn on broiler for 5 minutes to brown. Serve and Enjoy.
As per usual, I went off book a little bit. I prepared the garlic in with the squash on Friday night to lower the energy costs a bit. I mixed together MOST of the ingredients (not the egg) for the meatballs and let it sit over night to allow the flavors to combine well. Also, I seared the meatballs in a deep saute pan before baking them to keep the moist while baking. I know some people are squeamish with the word "moist", but that is the only word in my opinion for well prepared meat or poultry. I then chose to use deep saute pan to heat the sauce and squash together on the stove top while the meatballs baked.
I think this turned out very well. Husband agreed with me in that it is an excellent alternative if you can't have / don't want the real thing. He really like my healthy no carb meatballs. This will probably be made again sometime.
Until the next meal...
**Today's title comes from Sophia Loren when she was asked about her physique: Everything you see I owe to spaghetti. **
The In Laws here in town this past weekend (which was super duper great) and it turns out that M.i.L. makes Spaghetti and Meatballs for Papa G for his birthday every year. Unfortunately, M.i.L. had misplaced her recipe. Most fortunately though, I was able to find it online as it is a Martha Stewart Recipe! Needless to say, the Papa G's birthday has been saved and all will be right in the world this Hatch Day coming for him.
All this talk about Spaghetti and Meatballs, as well as talking about Swedish Meatballs (we went to Ikea), has gotten Husband asking for the same meal for his birthday. Alas, I am doing a low-carb diet so pasta (even whole wheat) isn't in the plans for me quite yet. I asked if I could do a Spaghetti Squash version of the dish and Husband, ever the sweetest man I know, said that would be dandy.
Here are the recipes I have found for Low-Carb Spaghetti Squash and Roasted Garlic and Herb Meatballs.
Spaghetti Squash and Sauce
Ingredients
2 whole spaghetti squash
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
4 cup prepared marinara sauce <tomato basil a la Trader Joe's for me> (sub out for an appropriate option if you're vegan)
Method
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Split squash in half and scrap out seeds.
Line an oven tray with aluminum foil.
Season spaghetti squash with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Place flesh side down and roast for 30 - 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat marinara sauce in a large saute pan.
When squash is cool enough to handle, using a large kitchen spoon, scrape the strands of squash from the inside of the skin. Toss the squash in the pan with the sauce until it is hot enough to serve.
Roasted Garlic and Herb Meatballs (don't use if you are vegetarian or vegan, duh)
Ingredients
1 bulb of garlic
1 tablespoon of butter
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
1 pound of ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped shallots (I used onions)
1 egg
1 teaspoon of dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper (white preferred)
1/4 cup olive oil
Method
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut 1/4 inch off the top of the bulb of garlic to expose the cloves beneath, but don't peel the garlic as you want to roast it in the skin.
Place bulb in a piece of aluminum foil, place butter on top, pour lemon juice over the garlic and sprinkle with salt.
Bring up sides of the foil and twist together to close.
Cook for 60 minutes or until garlic cloves are soft and golden in color. Allow to cool.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Combine turkey, shallots, egg, rosemary, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
use a fork to remove cloves from skin and add to mixture. Mix well. Roll into approximately 15 meatballs.
Place meatballs in a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil over the top. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Turn on broiler for 5 minutes to brown. Serve and Enjoy.
As per usual, I went off book a little bit. I prepared the garlic in with the squash on Friday night to lower the energy costs a bit. I mixed together MOST of the ingredients (not the egg) for the meatballs and let it sit over night to allow the flavors to combine well. Also, I seared the meatballs in a deep saute pan before baking them to keep the moist while baking. I know some people are squeamish with the word "moist", but that is the only word in my opinion for well prepared meat or poultry. I then chose to use deep saute pan to heat the sauce and squash together on the stove top while the meatballs baked.
I think this turned out very well. Husband agreed with me in that it is an excellent alternative if you can't have / don't want the real thing. He really like my healthy no carb meatballs. This will probably be made again sometime.
Until the next meal...
**Today's title comes from Sophia Loren when she was asked about her physique: Everything you see I owe to spaghetti. **
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