Little Heavenly Bites Of Goodness!

Sometimes I must say I impress myself. Yeah, I know I said I would be making some Amish recipes and all, but you know there are some days when you crave certain foods. Tonight I was craving spaghetti and meatballs. Spaghetti is by far one of my favorite things to eat, but I don't usually make it because I usually make too much. But I really had to have meatballs. I have a recipe for meatballs that I have developed over the years. I can still remember when I got the basic recipe and what I was doing. When I was in college, a friend and I were really craving some home cooking and so we decided we wanted spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. We knew how to cook spaghetti, but neither one of us were too sure on the meatballs. So I called my mom from my cell phone and asked her how to make them. She gave me a very basic recipe which was basically ground beef, saltine crackers, parsley, salt, and pepper. They turned out alright, but I wanted more. Since then I have played around with this recipe over the years and have come up with a recipe that I truly love. I have decided to share my recipe with the world, if you will, today! There are a lot of ingredients but they truly make a delicious meatball. The nice thing about this recipe is that you can make a lot of them and use what you want and freeze the rest for a quick and easy meal later. I have included a picture of how to prep them for the freezer. The measurements in this recipe are approximate; I never measure when I make these, you may need to adjust to your own taste. Happy meatball eating!


Heavenly Bites of Goodness
1 lb. of ground beef or turkey (tonight I used about 1/2 lb. of each cause it is what I had left)
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. tarragon
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. rosemary
1 tsp. rubbed sage
1 Tb. parsley
1 Tb. fennel seed
1 Tb. Parmesan cheese
1 egg
4-6 Saltine Crackers
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil

In a mixing bowl combine all of ingredients except for egg and crackers. Add the egg and then add the crackers until the meat mixture is moist but not super runny or sticky. The best way to combine the ingredients is to put the meat in the bowl and make a pocket in the meat -- add the ingredients and then use your hands to mix the meat up. Once the meat mixture is complete, turn a skillet on low with a little olive oil in the bottom of the pan. Add the meatballs until nicely seared on the outside and cooked fully in the middle. Serve with pasta, on a sandwich, or just eat right out of the pan.



Meatball texture up close:



Many meatballs:



Spaghetti and meatballs:



Meatball prep for freezer:

Ideas On The Best Way to Freeze Fresh Foods

I need some help! I absolutely love fresh fruits and vegetables, but I can never seem to eat them fast enough before they get rotten and nasty! And then I end up throwing them out and therefore wasting money. So, my question is, does anyone have any good suggestions on how to freeze fresh fruit and veggies so that when they are thawed, they aren't mushy and gross? I want to try this salad, but it serves 8. I am not 8 people, and I have a very difficult time cutting down recipes -- especially from eight to one. Any thoughts or tips would be helpful. I am to a point where I buy very few veggies or fruit and stick with canned, because I can't stand throwing out food. And I prefer fresh over canned any day. Bring on the ideas!