Meatballs n Sausage with Primavera Sauce

This is another one of those no starch meals made specially for "the carnivore". If you read my Crispy Chicken post then you know how it is around my house. I had originally planned to prepare a pasta dish with meatballs and sausage. Upon announcing the dinner menu, I got the WHAT PASTA?? response. See my DH had quit eating high carb foods like pasta, bread, and potatoes to name a few. Oh jeez, I can't do him like that but I want meat balls! Ok, here's the compromise, Meatballs and Sausage Primavera, no pasta, and Devils Food Sour Cream loaf for dessert(which hubby doesn't eat anyway). That got a yes and an I'm sorry from the carnivore, and a big grin from my son Red!

Inspired by the seafood pasta primavera from Christmas Eve dinner, this is what it did:

Meatballs n Sausage with Primavera Sauce

Brown 1.5 pounds sausage over medium-low heat, turning frequently. I used sweet Italian Mozzarella and parsley sausage and cut the links to about 3 inches. I was surprised how lean it was. While they were browning I mixed the meatballs.

Meatballs

1 lb ground chuck

1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1 egg

1/4 cup grated cheese Parmesan and/or Romano (I like Romano best)

1/2 tablespoon minced fresh garlic

1 tbsp dried parsley

salt & fresh ground pepper

I use my hands to mix and like to roll meatballs just a bit bigger than a golf ball. When the sausage was browned and almost cooked through, I remove the sausage and added the meatballs. Brown the meatballs on medium low, turning only when the side is browned otherwise they will break apart. When the meatballs are browned on all sides, lower heat and continue to cook until the meatballs have lost the red color. Remove and reserve with the sausage.

Drain any excess fat, leaving all the brown bits from the meat. Reduce the heat to lowest setting and add 1 can diced Italian tomatoes and 1/2 cup red cooking wine. I used burgundy. Stir and scrape to mix those flavorful meat bits with the tomato wine liquid, kind of like making gravy. Next add 3-4 cloves of garlic and cook until garlic begins to soften. Add the meat back to the pan, cover and cook until both meats are done. This took about 30 minutes or so and allowed the sauce flavor to be incorporated into the meat balls. Meanwhile, I gathered and cut the vegetables.

1 cup frozen okra

1 cup frozen Italian cut green beans

1 cup diced petite tomatoes (half can)

3 sweet banana peppers (aka Italian sweet peppers) sliced

1 large onion sliced rather thick

1 cup garbanzo beans, drained

1 small can of mushrooms, drained

When the meat is done move to the side of the pan, add the frozen vegetables and the tomatoes, and turn up the heat to get them simmering.Cover and cook, stirring a few times, until veges are no longer frozen but not done. Add the remaining vegetables, stir to combine, cover and cook until the fresh vegetables are cooked but not too soft. Mix the vegetables with the meatballs and sausage. Serve in bowls topped with grated Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes. Sorry I don't have a plated photo, it was self serve night with dinner in front of the TV.

I really enjoyed this even without the pasta. Hubby did too, which made me really happy, and Red had seconds so I know he liked it! Nothing better than a compromise well done. Oh and as for the diet success, hubby has lost enough now to go down one pants size!

There's about a million recipes for sour cream pound cake loaf on the net. After reading about ten of them and looking in the pantry I came up with this:

Devils Food Sour Cream Loaf

1 devils food cake mix

1/4 cup oil

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

1 cup sour cream

4 eggs

powdered sugar for dusting

Combine cake mix, oil, yogurt, and sour cream. Mix until well blended. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Pour into two 9" greased loaf pans and bake at 350 for 35 to 45 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Cool and dust with powdered sugar.

Red liked this better than I did. For the ease of the recipe, it was wonderful, and to it's credit not too sweet. Since devils food cake is light, the texture was as such; very moist yet quite airy. The edges were crisp like an old fashioned pound cake, however I like a more dense cake when thinking pound cake. A moist mix would have been perfect. Oh well, maybe I'll graduate and make the next one from scratch!

Are you hungry?

♥