Italian Marinara with Meatballs

My sweet friend, Lindsay Pineda, shared this recipe with me and I'm so glad she did! Lindsay told me this is an authentic Italian dish that her family has made for year and she wanted to share the recipe so I could try it out! 

When I first read the ingredients, I was nervous that all the fresh herbs would be too overwhelming, especially adding in the Taste of Italy essential oil, but it was perfectly balanced!! This was really easy to make and the fact that you make it in a crock pot made my afternoon less hectic!! I threw the marinara sauce ingredients in the crock pot, mixed up my meatball ingredients, browned them and put them in the crock pot for 5 hours. I made my gluten free spaghetti noodles 20 minutes before the sauce and meatballs were scheduled to be done and we were ready to eat!!

This recipe can be made gluten free if you use gluten free noodles and gluten free breadcrumbs.  Oh and by the way...the Young Living Essential Oil is optional but really makes a difference in the taste. Here are the ingredients in this oil:

Basil leaf oil, Oregano (Origanum vulgare)† aerial parts oil, Oregano (Origanum minutiflorum)† aerial parts oil, Oregano (Origanum onites)† aerial parts oil, Oregano (Origanum majorana)† aerial parts oil.

If you need to know where to order this oil, email me at amandasgreatrecipes@gmail.com and I'll hook you up.

Enjoy this one! It's a repeater for sure!!


Marinara Sauce: 

Ingredients 

• 2 cans crushed tomatoes 
• 1 can tomato paste 
• 2 bunches fresh basil (you will take this out at the end so they need to be whole bunches) 
• 4-5 sprigs fresh oregano (you will take this out at the end so they need to be whole sprigs) 
• ¼ c. reduced fat parmesan cheese (fresh grated)
• 1 tsp each – garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, dried basil, dried parsley 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper 
• 2 drops Taste of Italy Young Living Essential Oil (optional) 

Directions

• Combine all ingredients in slow cooker, stir together. Turn crock pot on low heat. 

Meatballs: 

Ingredients 

NOTE: This makes a lot but, it’s easy in the slow cooker

• 3 pounds ground turkey (Jennie-O, 93/7 fat) 
• 1 ½ pounds (1 package) turkey sausage (hot or sweet- I buy Jennie-O) 
• ½ c. panko bread crumbs (I use Gluten Free Panko Bread Crumbs)
• ½ c. reduced fat parmesan cheese (fresh grated)
• 2 eggs 
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
• 3 drops Taste of Italy Young Living Essential Oil (optional) 
• 1 tsp each – garlic powder, onion powder, dried basil, dried oregano, dried parsley 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper 
• Fresh basil & oregano – as much as you want, cut or torn into small pieces 

Directions

Combine all ingredients and roll into small balls. Add 2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil to the pan and brown the outsides of the meatballs before putting them into the slow cooker (If you don’t do this step, they will fall apart in the sauce). 

Add them to slow cooker after they’ve been browned (note – the sauce will not cover them; this is okay, it will by the end of the cooking process), put the lid on and cook on low for 4-5 hours. 

When you remove the meatballs from the sauce at the end, do so with a slotted spoon to catch the basil and oregano leaves/stems to remove them from the sauce. 

Serve over your favorite noodles and add fresh parmesan on top!

Chicken Spaghetti

 

It has been awhile since I posted!!  It's been busy with the holidays and all, but I'm still cooking and trying new recipes!!  One thing that my family does is participate in our church hospitality ministry and we make sack lunches for the homeless once a month.  We meet at a church member's home and have a dinner before we start preparing.  It's a GREAT ministry and I'll tell you - my kids are learning how to love and serve others!  This past Friday, the dinner menu was Chicken Spaghetti.  Now - this one isn't gluten free originally - but you can absolutely make this Gluten free or regular!  So try this below and let me know how much you love it!  My family sure did!  And this one freezes beautifully so you can eat it up later!

Gluten Free Ingredients:

2 cups Cooked Chicken

3 cups Dry Spaghetti (I recommend Quinoa), Broken Into Two Inch Pieces

2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup (Gluten Free)

2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1/4 cup Finely Diced Green Pepper

1/4 cup Finely Diced Onion

1 jar (4 Ounce) Diced Pimentos, Drained

2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot

1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt

1/8 teaspoon (to 1/4 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper

Salt And Pepper, to taste

1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar CheeseFree Ingredients:

If you are NOT Gluten Free - Regular Ingredients Ingredients:

• 2 cups Cooked Chicken
• 3 cups Dry Spaghetti, Broken Into Two Inch Pieces
• 2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup
• 2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1/4 cup Finely Diced Green Pepper
• 1/4 cup Finely Diced Onion
• 1 jar (4 Ounce) Diced Pimentos, Drained
• 2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot
• 1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• 1/8 teaspoon (to 1/4 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Cook 1 cut up 1 whole chicken and pick out the meat to make two cups of cooked chicken. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until nearly done but do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar.

Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).

 

Halloween "Worms for Brains"

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!  We had a potluck at work and the theme was to bring a dish that was Halloween based.  So I created "Worms for Brains".  These are just too cute to not post about! 

This is simple! Get 4 or 5 Red or Orange Peppers and cut the tops off (like you do for your pumpkin carvings).  Clean out and discard the seeds.  Take a small parring knife and cut a pumpkin face into each pepper.  Scoop in your favorite recipe of spaghetti and you put the tops back on.  You're all set!

I hope you guys use this idea at your next Halloween potluck!

My Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

This one has been in my family for generations.  I have no idea where this recipe came from but my mom has made it ever since I can remember.  This is our family’s homemade spaghetti sauce.  My kids love this one.  This one is gluten free.  Serve over any pasta you like - but my family has come to love the Quiona brand.  My kids cant taste the difference and it is so much better for you than regular wheat pasta.  Quiona has seven different pastas available: Elbows, Linguine, Spaghetti, Rotelle, Shells, Garden Pagodas and Veggie Curls. Quinoa is an amino acid-rich (protein) seed that has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture and a somewhat nutty flavor when cooked. It’s been proven that Quiona helps with migraines and cardiovascular health…you should for sure check this pasta out!  Enjoy the sauce!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
½ chopped onion
1 ½ tsp oregano
¼ tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 can tomato paste
1 clove fresh garlic
2 cups water
1 tbsp of brown sugar
2 bay leaves

Directions:

Brown meat with chopped onion.  Add browned meat and all other ingredients together and cook at a slow rolling boil for about 45 min to an hour.  Feel free to adjust salt and brown sugar as needed for the taste you prefer.