SPAGHETTI WITH ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR OR FIVE MEATBALLS

Good Morning to you,

As you know, if you have been reading my blog for a little while, I am not a gadget girl

.... or so I thought,

but last week, I discovered that I might actually be a gadget girl.... and how did I come to this conclusion?

Well, I had a burst of energy last week, or you could call it an early form of Spring fever, whatever the reason, I decided it was time to re-arrange my kitchen gadgets. To house my gadgets, I felt the perfect thing would be some new open shelves as they would make life easier for me. For instance, if I needed the rice cooker, it would be there in front of me and I would not need to ferret around inside cupboards everytime I needed to use it. I mentioned my idea to George and he said he would make the open shelves for me. So whilst he was busy hammering and drilling in the garage, I moved everything from the kitchen cupboards and placed the gadgets on my work surface, ready to be moved to their new home on the shelves..... and that was when I was surprised to see just how many kitchen gadgets I really have.

For instance, as I mentioned, 

.... I have a rice cooker, which also steams and slow cooks.   I use this all the time, because it makes perfect rice, whether I want sticky rice for sushi or basmati rice, I can always rely on my rice cooker.

.... I have a food processor, yes it is about 10 years old, actually it could be older, but it works perfectly and it is always in use.

.... I have a toaster, which I don't use, but the girls do when they come to stay.  I love toast which is made under a hot grill, for some reason the toast always seems nicer.

.... I have an ice cream maker, now this I really love, I only use it in the summer when I make strawberry ice cream.

.... I have a blender, again it must be 10 or more years old, but is perfect for blending soups and smoothies.

As you know, 

.... I have a Spiralizer, which I love, love, love and I haven't stopped using it.

.... I have an electric coffee grinder, which is always in use.

.... I have a second coffee grinder which I keep solely for grinding spices.

.... Oh and I almost forgot my KitchenAid which was a gift from Natasha, it is really a fabulous piece of equipment.

.... and I need to add one more thing... a panini machine, which George received as a gift for Christmas. I don't use it, but he loves it so much, that now that he has found his own combination of fillings, he refuses to buy a panini when we are in town, as he says he can make them much better at home.  Yes, I have to agree, he does make a 'mean' panini.

So maybe I should stop saying I am not a gadget girl as we have 10 gadgets which we constantly use.  

What do you think, are my kitchen gadgets excessive?

How about you? Do you have many gadgets which you use in your kitchen or are yours tucked away inside cupboards?

I was just thinking about how many gadgets I used in the making of today's dish..... only one, the food processor.... it blitzes the onions perfectly.

So it's on with the pinnie and the dish I am making today is,

Spaghetti with Meatballs.  Meatballs I hear you saying, there is only one!  Well the reason for this is I am not a huge meat eater, but George is.  I could have photographed George's meal, which had five meatballs, but bless him, he was hungry and ready to eat, and as this was my meal, this is the one that was photographed, so please do not be put off by the one, lonely meatball.  Have as many as you like.

.... and talking of like... I really like the music I am listening to today. If you love the old Crooners, then I have a treat for you, as the album I am listening to,

is 'Classic Crooners'. If you love 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's music you will enjoy this album.

Listen to,

'Blue Velvet' - Bobby Vinton

'Some Enchanted Evening' - Dean Martin

or how about

'Can't Take My Eyes Off You' - Andy Williams

So whilst I listen to, and sing a long with, 'On The Street Where You Live' sung my Vic Damone (I do love this song and I can't help singing when I hear it,) I will  organise my ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

YOU WILL NEED

TO MAKE

SPAGHETTI WITH MEATBALLS

350g ready prepared meatballs

(I know a cheat, but when time is short, 

they are the perfect solution)

THE TOMATO SAUCE

1 small white onion

1 small red onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 carrot

425g tin of tomatoes

1 tablespoon of dried oregano

1 tablespoon of tomato puree

2 tablespoons of olive oil

4 cups of chicken stock

sea salt

squeeze of lemon juice

1 level teaspoon of sugar

2 tablespoons (approx) grated Parmesan Cheese

200g dried spaghetti

HOW TO MAKE

SPAGHETTI 

WITH

MEATBALLS

Place 1 tablespoon of olive oil

into

a wide pan

and

add the meatballs.

Keep turning until the meat balls are

brown.

Whilst the meatballs are browning,

finely chop the red and white onions.

Place the final tablespoon

of olive oil into a wide pan

and add the onions.

Cook until golden in colour.

Add the dried oregano.

Crush the garlic

 and

add to the pan.

Cook for a minute or so.

Add the tomato puree

and stir into the onions.

Cook for a further minute.

Chop the tomatoes

and add to the pan.

Stir the ingredients together.

Add the chicken stock,

the sugar,

and the salt.

Stir the ingredients 

and 

whilst the sauce is coming to the boil,

peel and chop

the carrot into chunks

and add to the pan.

These will be removed at the end of the

cooking time.

By this time the meat balls will be nicely

browned

so

add them to the sauce.

Place a lid on the pan,

reduce the heat and simmer for

30 minutes.

By the end of 30 minutes,

if the sauce is not thick enough,

remove the lid,

increase the heat

and let the sauce bubble away.

Keep an eye on it though as you

want to make sure you reach the

right consistency.  

The sauce needs to be thick enough

to coat the spaghetti.

You do not want a watery sauce.

When the sauce has been simmering

for 15 minutes,

bring a pan of water to the boil,

add

a sprinkle of salt

and cook the spaghetti

until it is 

al dente.

When the sauce is ready

check for seasoning.

At this point

I like to add,

a little

lemon juice.

Drain the cooked spaghetti

into a colander

and add

the cooked spaghetti

to the pan with the sauce.

Toss everything together,

until all the spaghetti is coated
with tomato sauce.

Remove the carrots

and place them on a plate.

 If you are like me,

you will enjoy

eating them later.

Finally 

grate the Parmesan cheese

and either add to the pan

or 

to the dish
when plated.

Then

all there is left to do
is
enjoy.

There you have it,

a delicious supper,

with one, two, three, four or five

meatballs.

It is entirely up to you how many you have,
but

for me, 
one 
is the perfect number.

So take care and I will see you next Thursday.

This week I will be joining,

Miz Helen's Country Cottage for Full Plate Thursday