I have lots of recipes for meatballs and spaghetti. And of course, there’s the stand by method that my mother taught me 20 years ago (remind me to tell you the story of my first pot of sauce/gravy). Anyway, I bought this new Weight Watchers cookbook during the winter, Slow Cook It, 165 All New Slow-Cooker Recipes, and I’ve been working my way through it (at least I was before the weather turned warm). They have their version called Best-Ever Spaghetti and Meatballs and I thought I’d give it a shot.
It’s 9 points, which is a lot but it is a complete meal and not bad. Plus, of course I love the whole convenience of the crock pot (aka slow cooker).
Best Ever Meatballs and Spaghetti
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
4T flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/2t salt
1/4t black pepper
1 can crushed tomatoes in puree (28 oz)
3/4lb extra lean ground beef (5% or less)
1/4lb ground pork
1/4C fat free egg substitute like egg beaters
4T shredded pecorino (I used paremgianno as the girls don’t like pecorino too much)
3T Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs
6oz whole wheat spaghetti
1. Set aside 2T onion for meatballs.
2. I have a crockpot that I can take out the insert and brown in. If you don’t, you’ll need to do this in a separate non-stick skillet. Spray pan with nonstick spray and over medium heat add remaining onion, pepper and garlic; cook, stirring frequently until the veggies are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2T parsley, 1/4t salt and 1/8t black pepper. Remove from heat and stir in tomatoes (if you’re using a separate pan, put this all in a 5-6 qt crock pot).
3. Combine beef, pork, egg sub, 3T cheese, bread crumbs, reserved onion and remaining parsley, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Form into 12 meatballs and put in slow cooker. Gently turn to coat with tomato mixture. Cover and cook until until meatballs are 160°F, 3 – 4 hours on high or 6 – 8 hours on low.
4. About 20 minutes before cooking time is up, make the pasta. Divide among four plates and top each with three meatballs and sauce, sprinkling remaining cheese on top.