Spaghetti and Meatballs (about $5 per serving)

In the pursuit of budget paleo meals, I have found that 100% grass fed organic ground beef from Trader Joe's is a good deal. It is about $5.99 a pound and I am using it a lot in recipes. For dinner last night I decided I needed some comfort food. I took a pound of ground beef, and a pound of pastured ground pork from PCC and made meatballs and sauce. My mom makes the best meatballs and sauce, but I haven’t had them in years, so I had to make up my own.

Sometimes it is hard as a Paleo/Primalist to find foods that satisfy certain cravings. The mouth feel of pasta for example is a hard thing to match. Given time on a Paleo diet, most people stop having cravings for things like pasta or chewy artisan bread, but I have never lost my desire for such things. Pasta, even though I do not eat it (and haven't for years) is one of my great temptations. Finding a suitable replacement so I could at least enjoy my sauces has been a continuing quest.

Spaghetti squash is OK, but a few years back I sort of stumbled on zucchini noodles. I made them with a vegetable peeler so that they were a bit like fettuccine, and stuck with those for a while, although they were a pain to make...Then I discovered that you could make very nice zucchini noodles using a julienne peeler. But like before, this took quite a bit of time, and more than once I cut myself on the blade trying to make the most I could out of one little zucchini. Then I discovered the spiral vegetable slicer. Pop a zucchini onto this great little tool, and you are rewarded with long spaghetti-like strands of pure vegetable matter.

I fry them up or steam them, and serve them just like spaghetti--and it doesn't take hours of painstakingly cutting noodles either...It also leaves me with little "cores" of zucchini that I can save and chop up to fry another day, so there is very little waste. One of my favorite kitchen tools!

Spaghetti and Meatballs:

For the meatballs
1 pound TJ's organic 100% grass fed beef
1 pound ground pastured pork
1 T. dried parsley
1 T. dried basil
1 t. sea salt (leave this out if you are a non-salt paleo)
1 T. freshly ground pepper
1 t. nutmeg
1 T. dried powdered garlic
1 T. olive oil

Mix all the ingredients together except for the olive oil, and bring up to room temperature. (I mixed up the ingredients and let it marinate on the counter for about 40 minutes) Form 1-2 inch meatballs. (This amount should make about 20 meatballs).

Heat a skillet over medium heat until small balls are formed when you drizzle water in the pan. Wipe pan clear of water, and add oil. When oil shimmers without smoking, add the meatballs in batches of 4 or 5, browning on all sides. When lightly browned on all sides, set aside and prepare the sauce.

For the sauce:

1 can crushed fire roasted organic tomatoes
1 can organic tomato sauce
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 small grated carrot
1 T. oregano
1 T. thyme
1 T. basil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 T. olive oil

Heat a skillet over medium heat, and add the olive oil. (Remember hot pan cold oil).
Fry the garlic and carrot until fragrant, then add tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn down to low, and add meatballs, cover and simmer for 10 minutes, then another 10 minutes checking every five minutes for doneness. (You don't want the meatballs to overcook!) Serve meatballs and sauce with the noodle of your choice. Makes four large servings!

The result: YUM. These were definitely edible, flavorful and tender since I was careful not to overcook them. Since I had no filler in them like almond flour, they came out very dense and meaty. The combination of the beef and pork was also very good. Pork adds a luscious element to tomato sauce that I love.