Meatballs and Rice, is one of Mama Ruby’s recipes that has been passed down to me. It is yummy, cozy, and full of meatball goodness! The celery gives this dish a lighter flavor than regular spaghetti sauce. Now you can most certainly just take some meatballs from this cooked dish and throw them on a roll with some mozzarella cheese for a meatball sub for leftovers but this is how the dish starts.
And I have been hiding vegetables like carrots, squash, and sweet potatoes in my pasta sauces for some time now. You can add them to any red pasta sauce, and picky eaters will not know the difference. Actually, they may comment on how yummy it is! I have 3 picky eaters, and for years, I have been hiding vegetables in their favorite foods, and it helps me to know that they are eating their veggies!
This step is totally optional, but is I were to just place carrots, or chopped squash right in the sauce, believe me when I say, that they would never eat it. Even as almost adults, that they now are. I have been hiding vegetables in pasta sauce since the were in elementary school, and it has worked like a charm! Read more below to find out how to hide veggies in foods!
We start with meatball mixture. I find myself making this kind of mixture a lot lately:)
My shaped meatballs, about 1-1/2 inches in diameter.
For veggies, start be slicing some onion. I cry every time!
Then some celery.
Add some olive oil to pot. I am using my trusty le-crueset.
Add to pot along with some salt and ground pepper.
Cook until translucent and add some chopped garlic.
I love garlic!
As Mama says”Fry your tomato paste!”
We will be working with these today!
Lawry’s spaghetti sauce mixture has everything in it.
Cheese, Paprika, Garlic, Oregano and other yummy seasonings!
It is one of my Go-To shortcuts in the kitchen.
Add mixture to pot and stir.
I like to add meatballs in a circular pattern.
Everybody in the pool!
My secret to this delicious sauce, is to add some hidden veggies, by way of pureed baby food! I use pureed carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash, and I must say that the pureed veggies make such a difference in flavor! Now this is a totally optional step, but if I have pureed baby food, or vegetables on hand, it is truly worth it.
You don’t have to use baby food. I just sometimes buy it because it is such a time saver. I have pureed my own vegetables before, and I love how easy it is to add to recipes. I just bought this book by Jessica Seinfeld, that told me how to hide vegetables in food for picky eaters.
I also have this book by Missy Chase Lapine, who is the go-to gal on hiding veggies in foods! She explains step by step on how to puree vegetables and freeze them for use in recipes like Mac N Cheese!
Meatballs and Rice
Ingredients
- Ingredients:
- 1 onion sliced
- 5 celery stalks
- 12 oz can tomato paste
- 2.5 oz of each pureed carrots, squash, and sweet potato (optional)
- 1 packet Lawry's extra rich and thick spaghetti seasoning mix
- 3 cups of water
- 28 oz can of whole tomatoes drained
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
- 1/4 teaspoon chopped garlic
- Salt
- Ground pepper
Instructions
- First prepare the meatballs by placing ground beef in a large bowl and adding Italian bread crumbs, egg, a generous pinch of salt (maybe two) and a pinch of black pepper. Shape meatballs into 1 1/2 inch diameter meatballs and place on a baking sheet. With two ponds I was able to get 31 meatballs. Next wash hands and prepare veggies by slicing onion and chopping celery into 1 inch pieces. Add olive oil to pot and add onions and celery and cook until translucent, about 5-7 minutes stirring often, then add chopped garlic and stir, let cook for just about 20-30 seconds and then add the whole can of tomato paste and stir into veggies.
- Cook on medium heat. Continue to cook mixture for about 4-5 minutes stirring constantly. In a 2 cup measuring cup add 2 cups of water and packet of Lawrys spaghetti seasoning, and stir to combine. Add mixture to pot, stir Into tomato paste and combine well. It may be still a bit thick at this point so I added one more cup of water. Let this cook for about 5 minutes on medium-low heat and stir once more. Start adding meatballs. They are raw but they will cook nicely in sauce. Add meatballs in pot one by one and carefully as not to smash them or they may fall apart.
- Once the meatballs are added spoon over some sauce on them and place lid on. Stir every 5-7 minutes. After they have cooked half-way, about 15 minutes, add whole tomatoes that have been drained and crushed by hand. Mix until combined while still being gentle with meatballs. Add salt and pepper to season. Make sure to stir well and not let sauce stick to bottom of pot. At this point, you would add the pureed vegetables. (optional) Let cook about another 45 minutes, on simmer, stirring every 6-7 minutes. Serve with rice or egg noodles.
- This makes a lot of sauce, so you can definitely freeze half.
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Do you know any tips or tricks for picky eaters? Let me know in the comments below:)
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