Keep it simple

If there's anything I learned this year, it's to keep things simple. I learned this from my kids, from my husband, from my job experiences, and also from daily happenings. Today, I kept it simple while cooking dinner.

For Christmas, I got the Deceptively Delicious cookbook that I asked for. I love this book! I have tried four of the recipes in it, and didn't really care for the way three of the things turned out. So, tonight - I used the cookbook for inspiration, then took the process from there, inventing my own recipe.

Before I continue, you should know that cooking is not my forte. If it doesn't come out of a box with explicit step-by-step directions, I get intimidated and overthink things... and, though I have to admit that it usually turns out okay, it's more trouble than it's worth.

Today, I tried out the spaghetti and meatballs idea on page 120 of this book. But, I replaced half of the sauce ingredients with a cup of salsa. Instead of adding breadcrumbs, I added oatmeal (credit where it's due: my husby is an awesome cook and he ALWAYS uses quick oats in place of breadcrumbs).

Anyway, I was pretty pleased with how supper turned out. The sauce was a wee bit too runny for my likings, but everything tasted fabulous. And, it didn't come out of a box. And, it was super healthy... Here's what I did, in case you want to try it for yourself:

1 lb of lean meat
1 cup of quick oats
1 clove of garlic, minced (whatever that is... I just mushed up a garlic clove and chopped it up real small - is that minced? lol - I truly have no idea)
a bit of salt
a little bit of pepper
nonstick cooking spray
*** it actually didn't occur to me until just now that i (accidentally) ommitted the olive oil that the recipe calls for here)
1 big can of whole peeled tomatoes with its juice
blender
1 cup of salsa
spaghetti pasta (wish we had whole wheat pasta... the sauce in this would make up for the bland wheat taste)

1) In a large bowl, add the first 5 ingredients and mash it all together. Use your hands - it will blend better that way. Then, shape the mixture into 1-inch balls and put them on a piece of waxed paper (this makes for easy cleanup)
2) put the can of tomatoes into your blender and puree it for a minute or two. Then add the salsa, and a bit of whatever other flavah's you like (I think I may have added some oregano or something, just to be silly) Don't blend these in, that's silly. Just stir it.
3) brown the meatballs in a skillet for a few minutes, turning often with some tongs or something, then add the blended ingredients
4) cook the noodles as directed, then serve with the sauce and meatballs.

Oh, one more thing... I used some leftover hot dog buns to make garlic bread in our toaster oven. The dog buns were good because they are thicker or fluffier or something...

Now, just in case there's some legal issues here somewhere, I must ask you to try the original recipe yourself, after you buy the book. I'm sure it's really good - and it calls for some more healthy goodness, like butternut squash and carrot puree. It really does sound good. But, I will be using my version of the recipe again, I liked the spicy sauce! Enjoy :)