Meatball Extravaganza!

Richmond (the sausage makers) have just launched their mini meat balls.  The kids love their sausages, they a good price for a tasty product and we were happy to try the meatballs when asked.  

The meatballs come in packets of 20  (Fresh) & 40 (Frozen). When I went to our local supermarket (Co-op) I spotted the fresh  pack of 20 costing £1.99.  I got 2 packs of these for us to try.  

When I was looking on-line the frozen ones are priced at £2.49 which is a much better buy.  Tesco also have the fresh at half price until 25 June. Too bad my local Tesco is an hour and 20 mins away and they don't deliver to where we live!

Firstly I made a tomato sauce.  I used a jar of passata, and to this I added:

• 1 tablespoon of tomato puree
• Crushed garlic (to your personal taste)
• Good slug of Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 pint of beef stock
• 1/2 glass of red wine - alcohol is removed with cooking but feel free to leave out

I brought the sauce to the boil then simmered for 3/4 hours until I had a nice thick sauce.  You need to stir this maybe 3/4 times during cooking.

In a separate pan I browned two chopped onions and then added sliced mushrooms. Once the sauce is cooked you can add the onion and mushrooms. My kids don't like mushrooms so I add them to my plate after serving.

Cook your pasta - 2oz per adult, smaller for children depending on age and appetite.

Whilst the pasta is cooking, warm the meatballs in the oven - 8 mins.

Drain the pasta then return to the saucepan.

Pour 2/3 of sauce in with the pasta and stir. 

Place pasta in a serving dish with meatballs on top and pour over remaining sauce.

Serve with Parmesan or Cheddar for little ones.

Then laugh as your daughter gets the sauce everywhere!

If you don't use all of the pasta sauce it can be frozen for 1 month.  Just get it out of the freezer a few hours before you want to use it to let it thaw.  You can add chilli to it for a lovely homemade chilli con carne sauce or simply stir through pasta.  It can also be used  with some added cream and milk for homemade tomato soup (without the onions and mushrooms) served with crusty bread for a quick and easy lunch or starter.  I tend to increase the quantities when cooking the tomato sauce and freeze some for use later.

To make the meatballs and pasta I used one packet of the meatballs.  

With the other packet we had a super quick meal that really did take less than 10 minutes to cook.  Great for one of those nights when you have little time to spare.

I browned an onion in a pan with a spray of low cat cooking spray and then added a splash of low salt soy sauce.  

Cut the meatballs in half, added to the pan.  Warmed through for 2 minutes.

I then added egg noodles and cooked for 2 minutes until the noodles were warm.

In another pan I toasted 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds.  They take seconds so don't turn your back!

Once the noodle mix was warm I served this in to individual bowls and sprinkled with the sesame seeds.

Now as a family we don't like beansprouts and all stir fry veg mixes in our local supermarket come with them in and as the kids don't like carrots and cabbage either its such a long winded affair cooking 2 two different stir fry's so I tend to eat it as they do unless I have more time.  If your family eat stir fry veg feel free to add these with the onions.  Will certainly make the food go further and count towards your one a day.

Both The Boy (11) and The Girl (9) loved both meals and said they would love to have them again.  

The Pasta dish easily served 4 of us (2 adults, 2 children) as the pasta was very filling.  The stir fry served the 3 of us.

This post is an entry for BritMums’ Hungry to Happy Challenge sponsored by Richmond Mini Meatballs

As part of this review we received a £3 voucher to purchase the meatballs.  

All views are mine and all other ingredients were purchased by myself.