8 ounces spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 Meatballs
32 ounces Tomato Sauce
1/4 cup parmesan, grated
water
salt

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and add the meatballs. Brown, then pour tomato sauce over top. Reduce heat to a simmer and allow meatballs to finish cooking.
2. When meatballs are cooked, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the spaghetti. Continue boiling until spaghetti is al dente.
3. Drain spaghetti and portion 1/4 on a plate. Pour 1 cup of sauce over top with 3 meatballs and garnish with parmesan cheese to serve.

Makes 4 servings

8 ounces beef sirloin steak, chopped
8 ounces lean ground beef
1/4 small onion, minced
1/4 small red pepper, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper

1. Place chopped steak in the food processor and pulse to the consistency of ground beef. Set aside and combine with ground beef.
2. Process onion, red pepper, garlic, bread crumbs and parsley very fine.
3. Combine beef and bread crumbs and season with salt and pepper.
4. Roll into approximately 2" round balls. Brown lightly then finish cooking in a 350 degree oven, or simmer in Tomato Sauce.

Makes 12 meatballs

1 teaspoon sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1-1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano

1. Combine sugar, yeast and water in a large bowl and set aside until foamy.
2. Stir in oil and salt, then gradually incorporate enough flour to form a soft, smooth dough.
3. Form dough into a ball and transfer to a greased bowl. Cover with a clean towel and allow to rise for an hour.
4. Pound dough flat and shape into a rectangle about 16" x 8". Combine olive oil, garlic and oregano and brush over top of the dough.
5. Allow the dough to rise for about 10 minutes, then slice into 1" strips. Twist the strips slightly and transfer them to a greased baking sheet.
6. Bake until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes.

Makes 16 bread sticks

Alright, so this dinner is admittedly a total carb fest, which is something I generally avoid. Still, it's a delicious carb fest, as most are! Spaghetti and Meatballs; to most, the perfect pasta and meat combination. I think there's a 3 way split in any kindergarten classroom for favorite foods between this, pizza and Lasagna. There's just something about Italian food that kids go crazy over, and for good reason. I think that youthful desire follows us to adulthood whether we like it or not and pasta is and always will be one of the ultimate comfort foods.

You can't have spaghetti and meatballs without the meatballs, so I included my recipe for Italian Meatballs separately. I took an extra step and ground my own meat for this and it is actually noticably better than commercially ground beef. Enough so that I'd do it again? Probably. Enough so that most people would bother? Probably not. I was quite pleased at how the whole thing turned out. The meatballs simmered nicely in the sauce and everything was just how it should be.

Still in a futile attempt at using up baking supplies and to further add to the carb load, I made Garlic Bread Sticks. I was a little rushed to get these in the oven and I didn't feel that they had enough time to proof. This made them a little crunchier than I would've liked, but apparently this is how people prefer them, so I actually scored points for making them this way. For dessert I made macadamia nut biscotti, which was just my recipe for Pistachio Biscotti with pistachios substituted for macadamia nuts. Delicious!