Sometimes dinner at our house is a chore! We’ve got three little boys (8, 4 and 3) and they all have different tastes and appetites. Our littlest will practically eat anything and everything. He’s a hearty eater and I love it! Our second is a spit fire and it’s a 50/50 chance he’s going to even like what’s for dinner…even if it’s his favorite meal on earth, he might decided to not like it that night. Our oldest is the one we’ve struggled with the longest and not just because he’s the oldest. He’s our pickiest eater and always has been.
My husband and I have spent countless hours sitting at the dinner table trying every tactic under the sun to get him to eat anything new or something he didn’t like. We tried bribing, rewarding, taking away privledges (aka blankie when he was littler) and sending him to bed at the first sight of a struggle. It was not pretty and I’ll admit, we made a lot of mistakes.
It wasn’t until I made this exact recipe for Spaghetti and Meatballs that things started to turn around for us. His taste buds changed and he was surprised by how much he liked it. Maybe it’s because he got older and grew into a new stage but, I like to believe it’s because these are super yummy and delicious!
Spaghetti and Homemade Meatballs
Printable Version
Serves 6
Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef
1 cup Panko crumbs
1 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
2 large eggs
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp garlic powder
2 jars marinara sauce*
1 lb spaghetti noodles
Directions
1. Cook noodles according to package directions
2. In a large pot over medium high heat, bring marinara sauce to a low boil. Turn heat to low and bring to a simmer. Cover.
3. In a large bowl whisk together eggs, pepper, oregano, basil and garlic powder
4. Stir in Panko crumbs and Parmesan cheese.
5. Gently mix in ground beef until everything is just incorporated together.
6. Take 2 tablespoons of meat mixture and roll in a ball.
7. Drop meatballs in the hot marinara and cook for 30-40 minutes or until cooked through. Stir frequently.
8. Serve over hot noodles and garnish with more Parmesan cheese.
*I really like to use my homemade marinara (aka pizza sauce) for this recipe.
