Meals for the week: Baked spaghetti with meatballs and a tender Beef Roast

Since it's Monday, I decided to start out the week by fixing a couple things that would provide leftovers for a few days.  My husband loves spaghetti and meatballs, so I decided to change things up a bit by doing a baked spaghetti with meatballs dish.  I also had a frozen beef roast in the freezer, so I made a beef roast in the crockpot with onions. 

I started out by making my homemade meatballs.  I usually like to let my meatballs cook in a crockpot all day, but to speed things up a bit, I decided to bake them in the oven today.

Easy Meatballs

- a pound of ground beef
- a boxed stuffing mix, such as Stovetop Chicken Stuffing
- 2 eggs
-1/2 cup of water or chicken stock
- a dash of salt
- a dash of pepper
- a dash of garlic salt
- 1/3 cup of grated parmesan cheese

- a jar of pasta sauce
- chopped onion
- chopped bell peppers, any color
- 1/2 cup of water or chicken stock

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.  Today, I used chicken stock instead of water and a cornbread stuffing mix.  I actually prefer it with a chicken stuffing mix, but I didn't have one in the house. The chicken stock adds a touch flavor to the meatballs, but water works just as well.   If it seems like you need a little more liquid, just add a little more water or chicken stock. 

Start rolling mixture into generous size meatballs.  I would say my meatballs are about the size of a golf ball.  You can make them smaller, if you prefer, but I think the big meatballs are fun and are good for making sandwiches with if you have leftovers.  The meatballs don't have to be rolled perfect.  They taste just as good if they aren't perfectly round.  Heat up a little bit of olive oil in a pan/pot on the stove.  Place meatballs in the pan over medium heat.  Left them cook for a few minutes, then turn them over.  At this point, you are not trying to cook them through, you are just trying to put a nice sear on them. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Once you've browned the meatballs on the outside, you can remove them from the heat.  Pour a jar of pasta sauce into your pan/pot, then add the onions, bell peppers, and water/chicken stock.  I used Newman's Own Tomato Basil pasta sauce for the meatballs.  Make sure your pan/pot is oven safe, then put it into your oven for 30-35 minutes.  The liquid will keep the meatballs nice and moist.

While the meatballs are baking, it's time to start on the spaghetti.  I am on a kick with making creamy spaghetti, rather than a traditional spaghetti.  I got the recipe from Live with Regis and Kelly when they had a celebrity on there one day cooking their grandmother's recipe.  I've tweeked it some, but the main part of the recipe remains the same.

Creamy spaghetti

- half a box of spaghetti
- four cheese pasta sauce
- 8 oz cream cheese
- one slice of american cheese
- dash of garlic pepper
- dash of oregano, optional


Cook the spaghetti per package instructions.  Once spaghetti noodles are drained, but them back on low heat and add pasta sauce.  Stir in pasta sauce.  Cut up cream cheese into chunks and add to pot.  Tear up the slice of american cheese and add to pot.  Stir frequently until cream cheese and american cheese are melted in.  Add in the garlic pepper and oregano.  Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.

Spray a 13 X 9 inch pan with cooking spray.  Pour the creamy spaghetti into the pan and spread out evenly.  Once meatballs are done, spoon meatballs over the spaghetti.  If desired, sprinkle half a cup of shredded mozzarella cheese on top.  Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes.

When the spaghetti comes out, let it sit for about 5-10 minutes before serving.  Use a spatula to cut baked spaghetti into squares and serve.  If you enjoy Italian comfort foods, you'll love this recipe.

Beef Roast

- thawed beef roast
- 1 cup of water
- package of beef gravy mix
- salt
- pepper


As for the beef roast, I took a regular beef roast and seasoned it with salt and pepper.  Spray the inside of your crockpot with cooking spray and put the beef roast in.  Cut up a third of an onion and put it into the crockpot with the beef.  Add one cup of water to the crockpot and a package of beef gravy.  Cook the beef roast on high for 6-8 hours, depending on the size of your roast.  When it's done, it will be fall apart tender.  I usually serve it over a slice of white bread, or with some mashed potatoes and corn.  The beef is so tender, it is perfect for making sandwiches the next day.