Family came to visit!

Last night we had visitors. My cousin, his wife and two of their children came through town on their way home. What do you do when you suddenly have guests... at dinnertime?

Spaghetti and meatballs.

It is super fast and easy to double or tripled to accommodate the extra guests. And I haven't met a child yet that doesn't like spaghetti.

As we were going to have 5 adults (my mom was also here) and 5 children (ranging in age from 1 and a half to 10), I fixed 2 pounds of spaghetti. Along with 2 large cans of Hunt's tomato sauce (their was a sale at the store last week) and 2 bags of homemade meatballs (my kids and I had made the meatballs the other day and I split them into 2 family size servings and then stuck them in the freezer).

Of course these are no ordinary meatballs. These are my special, hide the veggie, meatballs.

Get your food processor ready!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1 cup finely chopped carrots
1 medium onion, chopped finely
1/2 block of tofu
1 cup breadcrumbs (seasoned)
1 egg
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Mix well with your hands to incorporate all of the ingredients together.

Form into 1 inch round balls and place on the baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, turn the meatballs and bake for another 10 minutes.

Remove and drain in paper towels. Allow to cool and divide into freezer baggies. I estimate 2 meatballs for each child and 3-4 for each adult serving (and as my husband usually goes back for seconds, I plan on 8 total for him).

Stick in the freezer until ready to use. When you are ready to use the meatballs, drop them into the sauce, and heat the sauce over medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes.

Makes 30 meatballs.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

My kids love these meatballs and never know they are getting not just meat but also veggies and tofu as well.

Serve these meatballs in sauce over spaghetti with garlic bread and a salad and you have a full meal in minutes and an easy recipe to double or triple when you have guests come for a visit!