Roley Poley Meatballs!

"Tripper: Attention. Here's an update on tonight's dinner. It was veal. I repeat, veal. The winner of tonight's mystery meat contest is Jeffrey Corbin who guessed "some kind of beef." - quote from the movie  "Meatballs" (recollect if you will that Tripper was played by the extrememly talented Bill Murray)

And because I love this movie, I'll add one more for good measure "Tripper: Important announcement - Some hunters have been seen in the woods near Piney Ridge trail and the fish and game commission has raised the legal kill limit on campers to three. So, if you're hiking today, please wear something bright and keep low."

Now that I got that out of my system....on to tonight's menu: MEATBALLS!!!  Making this dish has me thinking of my very good friend, Ann.  Why?  Because meatballs are her signature dish.  It was just expected of her that when there was a potluck, Ann would lug a huge crockpot full of yummy meatballs for our enjoyment.  Actually, I think we would have all raised quite a fuss and picked up our pitchforks like a crazed mob if she didn't bring them, so really it was for her own good that she made them for us.

I have a couple of other friends who have super good signature dishes of which pitchfork mob also applies.  Jenny's is her artichoke dip and Alicia's is this pickle cream cheese roll up thingy (feel free to comment on what these things are called Alicia, I just know that they are delish!)  I on the other hand, do not have a signature dish.  I would always bring random things, with no rhyme or reason to them to our get togethers. I guess I have always been a recipehunter! :^)

Unfortunately, it has been ages since all my girl's have even had a potluck get-together.  Over the years, this core group of friends have married, had kids (doggies, in my case), and some have moved really really far away (although all, except one, has hopes to move back here, which I am crossing all my fingers happens sooner rather then later), so it has been years since these signature dishes have made an appearance in my life. 

I should have wretched Ann's recipe from her very soul for tonight's dish, but I decided to do this very last minute.  I procrastinated, like back in my college days where I was very prone to leaving reports, studying for tests and pretty much everything with a due date to the absolute very last possible minute. I turned to what has become my tried and true blog, Pioneer Woman, for inspiration.  Now that I am thinking about it, I will shoot an email to Ann and get that recipe from her for future use!

Roley Poley Meatballs (recipe modified from a portion of Pioneer Woman's Italian Meatball Soup)

Ingredients:

¾ pounds Ground Beef
1/4 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
3 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley, Minced
1 whole Egg
2 cloves Garlic
½ teaspoons Salt
½ teaspoons Black Pepper
¼ teaspoons Ground Oregano
2 teaspoons Lemon Juice


Directions:
1.  Mix together all ingredients and let mixture chill for 30 minutes.
2.  Form meatballs into small balls.
4.  Transfer meatballs to a sprayed baking pan and cook in 450 degree oven for 18-20 minutes.

I decided to do something a little different and add the meatballs to spaghetti squash. but they would be amazing on a meatball sub with melted mozzarella and marinara sauce, by them selves, on pizza, or in the soup recipe above. The sky is the limit with them!!

Spaghetti Squash
Directions:
1. Put whole squash in oven at 375 for 45-60 minutes.
2. Allow it to cool and then cut in half, scoop out the seeds
3.  Use a fork to shred the squash up into nice fancy little pieces of spaghetti

I think my hubby and I were in agreement that the squash, though good, was crunchy and that was just strange to have one's spaghetti crunch when enjoying it.  Quite possibly I didn't cook it long enough, I only went about 50 minutes, but never having had spaghetti squash in my life, I am not sure if the crunch is normal or not.  The meatballs, on the other hand, were a rousing success!  

Lily got a new toy today, pure bliss ensued!!!