Well I know most of us are normally saying we wish we had more time to stay at home and get some things done around the house. Well thanks to the Corona Virus shutdown looks like that’s what most of us have been doing for about 3 weeks already…. Well let me tell you I’ve been a hot mess this whole time. Being stuck at home with my two little girls who are missing they’re friends and school ( I’m missing my friends too) has not been super fun for any of us. I have however many things to be grateful for.

We’re all healthy
We’re all still working
I still have friends online and with talking apps like facetime and marco polo
More time for reading and bible studies general self-betterment ( I hope ha ha)
The weather has been bomb! Lots of fun taking my frustrations on the hills in our neighborhood and laying out in the backyard pretending I’m still in high school
More time to cook the recipes I always enjoyed and have been too overwhelmed with kids stuff to remember.

This brings me to topic #1 1 pot Spaghetti and Meatballs

I’m claiming this recipe as mine even though it is adapted from a recipe I saw in Martha Stewart LIving years ago so props to Martha of course. What’s so cool about it is it’s a great make-ahead dish. You can put it all together in a super cute pyrex dish ( one of my obsessions) and then go lay in your yard and drink margaritas or spin or knit while binge-watching Poldark or Outlander. Then when you’re about an hour out from dinner time go pop it in the oven. No noodle boiling required. It’s all super cute in one dish for you to plop down in front of your family.

Ingredients

1/2 pound-1 pound ground beef ( depending on how big your dish is and how many meat balls you want

1/4-1.2 cup flour

salt and pepper

garlic powder

onion powder

1-2 eggs ( depending on how much meat you use)

mozzarella cheese ( I prefer the fresh stuff you buy in the little balls but if you’re stuck at home and have bagged shredded that’s cool too)

1 can of marinara sauce your choice

half box of noodles

Let’s get started, First get a bowl and mix together the meat, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper with the flour and eggs. Squish it all together and mix well. Make meatballs about the size of your palm, not too huge. then get your pyrex dish ( I like the oval kind with the lid) and line the bottom with meatballs.

After the meatballs are in place take about half a box of spaghetti noodles ( should be a decent amount but you should still be able to see some of the meatballs underneath) break the noodles in two if using long noodles. You can use whatever type of noodles you have laying around just don’t put in so may noodles that you can see the meatballs.

Pour the jar of sauce over the top and then fill the jar up halfway with water and pour that in too. The extra moisture is what cooks your noodles.

Cut your cheese into hunks and stick it on the top

Cover the dish with a lid or tin foil ( don’t forget that part)

preheat oven to 350 and pop it in covered for around 45 min.

Take off the lid and cook for an extra five.

When it’s done it should be all melty and awesome looking. I normally fish out one of the meatballs from the side and cut it open just to make sure it’s cooked but that’s just because I”m paranoid.

Serve with a salad and enjoy!

So what have I been working on besides trying to home school my kids and keep CHY and My Local Wool running?? Well, I have a good friend who is a nurse and she said that all the nurses were asked to have at least two washable masks for work. I’ve been knitting her some cotton mask. Now I’m no expert and I know that the fabric mask doesn’t keep out virus but if that’s what she needs ( I think she’ll be putting a liner in it) then I’ll for sure knit her up a couple. I like this pattern I found on Ravelry.

Stay at home Spaghetti and Meatballs ( 1 Dish! ) & more craft time