Spaghetti with Home-made sauce and Meatballs

I came up with this when trying to work out how to use the end of a packet of sausages and a couple of bacon rashers after having made a fry up for my Other half. The meat balls are so simple and quick to make while the tomato sauce is packed with veggies and tastes fantastic, rich and not too healthy! This recipe serves two hungry people or leaves a small portion for lunch the next day.

The dish with meatballs -  I forgot to
take a picture before digging in and made
 himself stop eating so I could take one... Ooops! 

Ingredients:
1 jar sundried tomatoes
1 jar sweet Italian Cherry peppers
1/2 jar of capers
1 large onion
1 box of passata
1 bag fresh spinach
salt and pepper
2 tsp mixed herbs
2 soft sausages per person
3 rashers bacon per person
Spaghetti for 2 people

Without the meatballs I found this
fantastically filling and properly yummy

Method:
Take a large frying pan and heat some olive oil over a medium heat. Dice the onions and fry in the oil until translucent. Add in the mixed herbs. Chop the sundried tomatoes and the peppers into small pieces and add to the onions, frying for a couple of minutes. Pour in the passatta and add the capers and spinach. Season with salt and pepper and leave to simmer and thicken for at least 20 minutes or until thick.

Open the sausages and squeeze out the meat, discarding the skins. Finely chop the bacon and mix this with the sausage meat and some seasoning. Make little balls out of the mixture and then fry in oil until golden brown and cooked through. I have never made meatballs before but these were fantastically easy and got a seal of approval from himself.

Cook the spaghetti as per the instructions on the packet, drain and pop into the frying pan with the  sauce. I like to break the spaghetti into smaller pieces before cooking to make it easier to eat although I do admit, it takes the fun out of it! Mix together to coat all the spaghetti then serve in a bowl, topping the dish with the meatballs. Parmesan could be added but we seriously enjoyed this even without cheese.

Please tag me when you make this using #diaryofadefectivehousewife. Enjoy!

Fresh and Easy Pasta Two Ways

I threw together this pasta dish recently to use up leftovers and make a quick and tasty dinner. It turned out fantastically with my other half making his happy food noises! I made this with chicken and bacon through his and marinated tofu through mine. The touch of greens and sun-dried tomatoes keeps this fresh. This serves three less hungry people or two with decent appetites! 

Chicken and Bacon Pasta 

Ingredients:

Half a bag of pasta

1 jar of sun-dried tomatoes including the oil

1 large bag of fresh spinach

1 bag sugar snap peas

1 box marinated tofu

1 chicken breast 

4 bacon medallions

butter 

salt and pepper to taste

Tofu Pasta 

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190c and place the chicken breast on a large piece of tin foil with a knob of butter. Wrap the chicken in the foil and bake for roughly 25 minutes until there is no pink left inside. 

While the chicken is cooking, place a large pan over a medium heat and bring half a pan of water to the boil. Add in the pasta and cook as per the instructions on the packet. Chop the sugar snap peas to bite sized pieces and add into the pasta along with the spinach just before the pasta is cooked. Drain the pasta and vegetables and place back over the heat adding in the sun-dried tomatoes (roughly chopped) and around 2 tbsp of the oil from the jar. Stir to make sure everything is well coated and leave on a low heat stirring occasionally. Season to taste. 

Place a frying pan over a high heat and chop the bacon into small pieces. Fry the bacon until almost crispy and then add in the chicken diced up as well as a tbsp of the oil from the tomatoes and fry until everything has a nice golden colour. 

Place the pasta and vegetables in large bowls and top with your choice of additions. This recipe would be ideal for lunch or dinner and could be made in large quantities for a party as well and tastes good hot or cold. 

When you make this please take a picture and tag me #diaryofadefectivehousewife