A year or so ago, my husband wanted to learn to cook a few meals. He thought it was good to know and would help ease the burden of always cooking which falls to me…or take out. We started simple with all things ground beef. Tacos. Sloppy joes. We kicked it up to chili. Then that kind of fizzled out with all the hustle and bustle of family life.
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Memory….Wednesday?
So, I haven’t done a Memory Monday in a very long time. I haven’t actually blogged in a long time. I guess being pregnant keeps you just a busy as the actual baby. What have I been doing? Nesting. Nesting at work and nesting at home. My classroom is officially set up for my maternity leave. Lessons are planned, worksheets are copied, IEPs are written. Very little left to do and if it didn’t all get done…no one would know but me. Nesting at home…eh. Laundry is done. We had two BEAUTIFUL showers hosted by our families. So many generous gifts…so much to organize.
What Baby Wants…
Probably not a big shocker to most, but I am pregnant. I’m about 26 weeks along on this new adventure. I have been blessed. I feel great. I haven’t had the dreaded morning sickness or complete exhaustion. It’s been a rather uneventful pregnancy so far. This must be a gift from my mom for sure.
Memory Monday: Taking Comfort
It’s been along time since I wrote for Memory Monday. Of course, being Tuesday, I am still a bit late.
There are just those things I find most comforting. I’m sure it is the same for everyone. Some of my favorites include
MEMORY MONDAY: surprise
I know. I know. It’s not Monday. But the week was a busy one and it pretty much feels like Monday.
My mom was a sucker for a casserole. It stretched a buck and hid a variety of veggies even the pickiest of eaters could enjoy. Better yet, it was easy to add rice or pasta so that even if one of the neighbor kids stayed for dinner, there would be plenty to go around.
Summer Days
In the last 10 years or so, my mom wasn’t much of a drinker. In her younger days, she stayed sane by enjoying a bottle of wine with the neighbor. But as she aged, she stopped drinking pretty much all together except for an occasional Kaluha and milk. She did, however, love her McDonald’s Diet Coke or Sweet Tea, especially when smuggled into the movies in giant ziplock bags shoved into my Mary Poppin’s purse.
Love and Chocolate
The first time I loved a boy–I mean really, REALLY loved a boy so much that just a few days apart made my heart hurt, I was about 24 years old. Along came this guy with an adorable smile and the eyes of an old soul. He was wise beyond his years with fantastic taste in music right from the get-go. I was smitten. I told him as often as I could that I loved him more than all the stars in the sky. You would think that would push a guy away…but not this fella. He would say it back with conviction always accompanied with a big hug.
MONDAY MEMORY: gobbledy…what?
Remember those meals your mom used to make when you were a kid that you absolutely hated?
Liver and onions anyone? Yuck.
Pre-Wedding Swedish Meatballs
Is there a meal that just transports you to another time? Another place? A meal that has strong memories you cannot help but think of them upon first taste? For me, one of those meals would be my mom’s Swedish Meatballs. It is such a ridiculously easy recipe I have a difficult time even calling it a recipe. There really isn’t any cooking involved–just some assembling. I can see the appeal to a busy mom of 6 kids!! Every time I make this meal, I cannot help but remember the night before my sister’s wedding. I have no really memories of this dinner or after that night. I know it was always a dish I enjoyed but I don’t exactly know how it became my sister’s favorite meal.
April 10, 2003, was the night before my little sister’s wedding. She had been dating her guy since they were kids…seriously. They met early on in high school and started dating somewhere around age 14. They have been together for longer than they have ever been apart. They now have 3 of the most adorable children, rivaled only by my other nephews. Anywho…that night, Colleen wanted to have a special meal. She asked my mom to make the dinner she just LOVED. Swedish Meatballs…and for some reason she wanted them accompanied by party potatoes. Strange bedfellows no doubt. I remember the three of us eating in that third floor condo together–probably watching Friends or Will & Grace followed by Golden Girls as we often did. Forever, Swedish Meatballs and the night before my sister wed will be connected…paired memories never to be separated.
That’s exactly why I told this story just yesterday. A friend of mine wanted to learn to make something new. I made a few suggestions and she settled on my mom’s Swedish Meatballs. As we assembled the unbelievably easy dish, I told her about that night just over 11 years ago. A smile crept onto my face as I remembered that happy day. I recalled that yummy meal, my sister’s anticipation, and singing the Golden Girls song. I couldn’t help but call my sister on the way home. Thank you for being my friend.
Swedish Meatballs–Mom’s Version
1 package egg noodles
4 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 beef bouillon cubes
12 ounces
1 package (11 servings) frozen Swedish Meatballs (I can find them at Jewel, Food for Less, or Ikea)
In a large frying pan (with a lid), mix together the soup and bouillon cubes.
Allow the cubes to melt into the sauce.
Add the meatballs and let heat through.
Make the noodles according to the directions.
Just before serving, stir the sour cream into the sauce.
Layer egg noodles with the sauce and meatballs.
Swedish Meatballs–lightened up
1 package egg noodles–No Yolk or Whole Wheat
3 cans reduced fat Cream of Mushroom Soup
1-2 beef bouillon cubes (mind the salt)
12 ounces non-fat plain Greek yogurt
8 servings frozen turkey meatballs–about 36 meatballs (my favorite brand are the Kroger brand at Food 4 Less)
In a large frying pan (with a lid), mix together the soup and bouillon cubes.
Allow the cubes to melt into the sauce.
Add the meatballs and let heat through.
Make the noodles according to the directions.
Just before serving, stir the Greek yogurt into the sauce.
Layer egg noodles with the sauce and meatballs.
This recipe yields about 1 cup of noodles, 8 meatballs and sauce to coat for about 10 WW points plus.
MONDAY MEMORY: I Rolled ‘Em Myself
It was our fourth date, the first meal I ever made for my new beau. I slaved all day Thursday making my mom’s spaghetti and meatballs. Everyone loved her sauce and I was certain that by making it, he was going to fall in love with me! The night before, as I was finishing up cooling the big pot, I casually asked him while chatting on the phone what he had for dinner. Imagine my heart sinking when he told me spaghetti. I was devastated. It was one of the few dishes in my repertoire that I was confident I could get right. I had to go to plan B–lemon chicken. It turned out delicious but didn’t have the impact I’m sure the spaghetti would have had.
Flash forward several months when I made spaghetti and meatballs again. It was a HIT. My guy declared it better than his grandma’s–SORRY GRAM! He asked me if the meatballs were homemade because they were really, rEALLY good. I looked him dead in the eye and said, “I rolled ’em myself!” See…this was my mom’s secret recipe. I’m not sure if it was passed down over generations, but I can tell you my sisters and I all make the meatballs the exact same way. And now, I’ll share that secret with you: 2 pounds of S&T meatball mix…then roll ’em yourself and toss into the sauce. The cat’s out of the bag. We don’t actually MIX the meatballs–we just roll them. The premixed, spiced and seasoned meat makes the perfect addition to your red sauce. This stuff is seriously amazing. My sister and I have even talked about forming into burgers and serving it on garlic toast. They are really THAT good.
It wasn’t until about 4 or 5 months ago that I finally came clean to my now hubby. I’m sure he always wondered why I could ONLY buy my meat for meatballs at S&T. I could never make the recipe without planning WAY ahead to go to the old neighborhood to grab the beloved meatball mix. I told him it was just something about the way they ground the beef/pork mixture. I didn’t exactly lie…but I did omit the part where they did all the hard work!
After mom passed away, spaghetti and meatballs would be the first meal we ate together as a family. My sister prepared the sauce and rolled the meatballs herself. It was just as we had all remembered. Mom never wrote the recipe down. And as I’ve talked to my sisters, she may have made it a tiny bit differently each time…so I’m sure our recipes differ just a little. But Mom and I made it together many times over the almost year my husband and I lived there. This is the recipe I remember. The taste is perfection. It’s a sweeter sauce, thinner than some others you may have had. It takes only about 10-15 minutes to toss together. The longer it simmers the more delicious it gets. I’ve been known to make it the day before then add the raw meatballs and sauce to the crockpot the morning of. It’s an extremely cost effective meal to serve to a large family–which is why I’m sure we had it so often.
It will forever be the first family recipe I remember learning. It’s the taste of my childhood. Just the smell of onions and garlic bring me back to the house on Ridgeway–walking in after school to discover our favorite meal was being served: homemade spaghetti and meatballs–where the McKenna women roll ’em themselves.
Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce
2 medium or 3 small onions finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic pressed or chopped
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1-15 ounce can tomato puree
1-29 ounce can tomato paste
¾ paste can of water
1-29 ounce puree can of water
1 tablespoon salt
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons dried basil
2-3 dry bay leaf
2 pounds S&T meatball mix
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Heat oil on medium-high heat.
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Add onion and garlic.
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Sauté until onion is translucent but not burned (if garlic has burned you must start over).
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Add the tomato paste and mix it into the onions and garlic until fragrant (about a minute or so).
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Add ¾ of the paste can filled with water and stir until well combined.
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Add tomato puree and a tomato puree can of full of water.
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Add sugar, salt, basil, and bay.
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Allow to simmer as long as possible on LOW stirring to avoid burning.
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Adjust seasonings (salt, sugar, and basil).
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Serve over pasta.
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If you want to add meatballs, roll 2 pounds of S&T Meatball Mix and add to the sauce raw.
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Allow to simmer until cooked through—at least an hour.
Karyn In The Kitchen 