Click Here To Pin This Recipe!

My family goes crazy over meatballs. I don’t make them enough but knowing it’s something everyone will surely eat I’m going to make an effort to cook them more often. They aren’t really all that hard to put together, and my thoughts are if you are going to make some go ahead and bake up a double batch (without sauce) and put into the freezer for later.

Whenever we visit my grandparents, you can pretty much count on meatballs being served with our pasta. My grandfather whips up batches of meatballs in large quantities and has a big stash in the freezer at all times for any spontaneous visits from grandchildren (and great grandchildren). He also likes to send me home with my own bag sometimes. I’ve been so spoiled by my grandpa over the years. You have no idea how awesome it is to have bags of meatballs, chicken cutlets, polenta and stuffed cabbage rolls in the freezer waiting for me. It’s such a treat for us – not only is it extremely helpful and convenient, but it’s comforting too. I live an hour away from my family, it may not be far for some but it feels very far for me a lot of the time. I try to get home as often as I can, but it’s not the same as living a few houses down from your grandparents (like I have my whole life).

(more…)

The post Baked Spinach and Ricotta Meatballs appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Before I posted one of my most asked for recipes, I had to do a little research on what to call it first. This is what I learned (from Wikipedia):

Marinara sauce is an Italian-American term for a simple tomato sauce with herbs—mostly parsley and basil—but, contrary to its name (which is Italian for “sailor-style”) without anchovies, fish, or seafood. In Italy, marinara refers to a seafood-based sauce or food and does not imply that tomato is either included or excluded.

I have always assumed marinara sauce to be simple, chunky tomato sauce but I never looked up it’s actual definition. My family is from Sicily and to be honest, I don’t really remember referring to our sauce as “marinara” until we opened up our second restaurant in Florida over 20 something years ago. Our sauce was always “sauce” (not gravy either…just sauce).

(more…)

The post Simple Marinara Sauce appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.