Get off my Turtwig

We’ve lived in Michigan for darn near 10 years now and frankly, I still don’t think I like it much.  Take today, for instance, we had this pesky little thing they like to call a “snow day”.  Now, I grew up in Indianapolis, and while the weather there isn’t great in the winter, it is milder than it is here.  It also ends sooner, as in a month or so before we’re done having cruddy winter-time, my family in Indy is enjoying the crocuses and gearing up for cookouts and spring break.

When I was a kid, just like every other kid on the face of the earth, I loved snow days.  We had them in Indy, sure.  We just didn’t have so darn many of them.  And, as you all know, I’m hard at work on my first cookbook, with a deadline quickly approaching.  I have a short week anyhow, since the kids don’t have school on Friday (thanks to a teacher’s professional day).  Today’s snow day really cut into some important work time.  Apparently, now that I’m not a kid any longer, snow day translates into a “Angie Pangie doesn’t get any work done today-day”.

It’s not that my kids want to hang out with me and enjoy my company that’s keeping me from getting any work done.  I could deal with that – you know, play some Monopoly, work on a jigsaw puzzle, have a tickle fight on the couch . . . nope, since they’re a bit older now, they’re busy doing their own thing.  They’re quite entertained planting themselves in front of Hannah Montana, the computer, the Playstation, or maybe just arguing about which Webkinz is cutest.  If I suggest a tickle fight, I get a “MO-OM, I’m trying to sort my Pokemon cards here!  You just knocked my Turtwig into my Blastoise!  KNOCK IT OFF, MOM!”  And so, you see how it goes.

Today, I got a grand total of one recipe written, researched two recipes, and reconciled about one week’s worth of business expenses.  That’s it.

On the other hand, I did get to cook a hot lunch for my kids (stir-fried ginger and garlic pork with tamari and white rice) which was quickly replaced by a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a handful of wheat thins.  Don’t worry, I enjoyed it immensely, even if they didn’t.  Oh, and the highlight of the day – I got to load and unload the dishwasher TWO times, not just once.

I suppose I’ll just have to work extra hard and long on my cookbook tomorrow.  At least the girls all got a much needed break from school.  They were all feeling the mid-January slump.  Still, by the time dinner time rolled around I was tired, frustrated, and too hungry.  I wanted to avoid the lunch-time PB&J incident again and decided on an old standby; spaghetti and meatballs.  I made a huge batch of meatballs last month and still had most of them in the freezer.  It took me a grand total of 15 minutes to put dinner on the table tonight.  The next time ground beef or turkey is on sale you might consider putting a batch of these together.  They perk plain spaghetti sauce right up, and if you need to used jarred sauce – no one will even notice.  Oh, and these make fantastic meatball subs!

Typically, I make about 5 pounds at a time.

Italian Style Meatballs

1  lb ground beef, turkey, venison, pork, or any combination of these
1  egg
1/4  cup milk
1/2  cup italian or plain breadcrumbs
1/2  teaspoon salt
1  teaspoon dried oregano
1  tablespoon fresh parsley, or 1 1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1/2  teaspoon garlic powder
1/2  teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4  cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl by hand for best results.

Roll meatballs to golf ball size – about 1 1/2 inches.

You can prepare these two ways:

Drop raw meatballs into large pot of sauce and simmer for about 3 hours.  Stir infrequently and gently so that you don’t break them into pieces.

OR
Bake meatballs in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes.  To avoid having your meatballs sit in a puddle of grease; place a cooling rack across the top of a sheet pan with one inch sides and place meatballs on top of the rack.  They can be close together, but not touching.

Meatballs freeze well.

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