First Meal in the New House

Big surprise: it's pasta.

I guess I can't honestly say this is the *first* meal I've cooked in this new, foreign kitchen-- I've made red beans and rice (out of the box) and on the second night we made a frozen pizza. But you have to start somewhere, so I'm donning my autumn apron in June and making some pasta with homemade meatballs.

No, it's not pasta from scratch. Give me a second.

When I made our first Walmart order to fill the pantry, I got my usual 2 large containers of tomato sauce. When I got to our pantry box and unpacked it, I discovered we already had about 400 cans of tomato sauce, so I told Allen we would be having lots of pasta in the near future. I do not, however, have milk, so I quickly found a dairy-free meatball recipe because I wasn't in the mood for Bolognese. 

As usual, I started with the sauce so that it can simmer for as long as possible and get good and flavorful. And like most people probably know, getting to know a new range/any appliance is a tricky relationship. We've already picked out a new stove and microwave, but for now I'm using what I have. It's the kind of range that requires a lighter to turn on. I definitely had my husband try it out first until I saw the process and realized it wouldn't immerse me in flames every single time. 

Starting with jarlic (not even going to defend myself on this one) and olive oil in a sauce pan, I turned it down to medium-low/low heat until that garlic started to sizzle. DO NOT let that garlic burn. Have I mentioned this already? Then I added 3 cans of tomato sauce and drowned it in seasoning-- s&p, garlic & onion powder, basil, lots of oregano, thyme and the last of my rosemary (can't find my Lowry's :/). After I added rosemary to my running grocery list, I stirred this and brought it to a very gentle boil.

Or at least, I tried. I'm sure I haven't mentioned this yet, but cooking in a new place comes with lots of experimentation. Once the sauce was heated through (I assume?) I placed it back onto the "accusimmer" burner to let it do its thing. **Quick note: if you're using fresh herbs instead of dried, please do not add them to the sauce until the very end, otherwise they'll get bitter. Only add that garlic, oil, tomato sauce and dried seasonings as normal before letting it simmer. Again-- have I mentioned this already?

With no milk or parmesan, I set off to attempt some meatballs. Into a medium-ish mixing bowl, I combined 1 lb of ground beef, 1 cup of Italian breadcrumbs, 1 egg, a large spoonful of jarlic, and s&p-minced onion- parsley- basil to taste (If you're hesitant, start with a teaspoon of each).

I decided to sacrifice another dish and quickly sear each meatball on most sides before placing them in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. 

And wouldn't you know it-- I didn't take pics of the finished product, but I did snag one of the sauce simmering. I wouldn't say it's worthy of posting here. Also, the meatballs were ~slightly~ too seared, but it was still a nice meal. Pretty damn good for a test run.