Chinese Spaghetti and Meatballs

Okay, I know it sounds weird. But that is really kind of what grabbed me and made me want to make this recipe! I am sure my family wasn't sharing my curiosity though. Their faces said it all...."ummmm you are making what?"...."What is in that?"......"Oh, OK" I am sure I heard some rumblings about sneaking out to McDonalds too. But hey, they know me and what I do. They might not have signed up for this but they were definantly drafted!

I love chicken chow mien and this kind of reminds me of that. The whole wheat noodles give it a nutty taste and the meatballs....well all I can say (as I channel my inner Rachael) is YUMMMMMO!! Once the meatballs started cooking and you could smell that wonderful smell coming from the oven, people started thinking twice about the whole McDonalds thing.

When they were actually able to taste it they all had a new appreciation for my curiosity and the good things it can bring. I am thinking now I should have made a double batch of the meatballs, they are THAT good. They went so fast and then we just had a pot of naked noodles leftover, so sad. Not to say the noodles weren't good because they were awesome too. The soy and sesame oil together made a terrific combo and the veggies were perfect, not to crisp but not too soft. Seth took some over to his friends house to share with her for dinner and I just got a comment from her on my Facebook page saying that she loved them. She also complimented my Turkey Sausage and Orzo Stuffed Peppers recipe that you can find at Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen.

I think this would actually make a good meal for a night when you are trying to find something to do with the leftover veggies in the fridge. You could use just about anything, asparagus, broccoli, peppers, onions, even thinly sliced carrots and celery could be used. So let your tummy be guided by my curiosity and give this one a try!

Chinese Spaghetti and Meatballs

Salt

1 pound whole wheat spaghetti

1 pound ground pork or chicken (I used chicken)

1 egg

2 cups puffed rice cereal

Black Pepper

1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder, 1/3 palm full

8 scallions, 2 finely chopped, 6 cut into 2-inch lengths

2 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup tamari dark soy, divided

4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

2 cups snow peas, thinly sliced on an angle

1 red bell pepper, very thinly sliced

2 inches ginger root, grated

4 cloves garlic, grated

1 pound triple washed spinach, leaves stripped of larger stems, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, available on Asian foods isle of market

3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, available on Asian foods isle of market

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Place a pot of water on to boil for spaghetti. When it comes to a boil, salt the water and add pasta to cook to al dente. Heads up: reserve 1/2 cup cooking water just before draining.

Place pork (or chicken) in a mixing bowl. Add the egg to the bowl. Place rice cereal in food processor and pulse into a bread crumb like consistency. Add cereal crumbs to bowl.

Add salt, pepper, five-spice powder, 2 chopped scallions and two tablespoons soy sauce. Mix the meatballs thoroughly. Form 1 1/2 in balls and coat with 1 tablespoon oil, scatter onto a baking sheet and roast 15 minutes.

When meatballs are close to done and the pasta is in, heat a large skillet (or wok) over high heat with enough vegetable oil to coat the skillet, a couple of tablespoons. Add the snow peas, red pepper, remaining scallions, ginegr and garlic, stir fry 2 minutes add spinach and wilt, 1 minute. Add the remaining soy sauce, about 1/3 cup, and the sesame oil then drain, add in pasta cooking water and toss to combine so pasta can soak up the sauce, about 1 minute. Garnish with the sesame seeds and top with lots of meatballs.

Serves 4

Spanish-Style Pork Chops with Chorizo and Roasted Red Pepper Sauce and Green Beans

Howdy do to all my blogging buddies. Hope you are all having a great day. Only one more day until the weekend so hang in there! I know I haven't been a very good girl the last few days, and left you guys hanging with no recipes. Monday night I had no one here to cook for, and since the point of this little adventure is to get opinions on the recipes so I can let all of you know, I figured I would just take a night off. I will also take this time to let you know that I will not be posting any recipes next week, I know, it will be hard to make it through without me right? I feel the same way. However, my dear sweet boyfriend is taking me to VEGAS so, although I will be heart broken not posting to you all, I think you can understand how EXCITED I am for next week to get here!!


Now, lets get down to business. Sunday night was recipe #218 Spanish Style Pork Chops with Chorizo and Roasted Red Pepper Sauce and Green Beans. If you read the last post you will realize that the other meat in the bag that was left behind at the grocery store by your truly was the pork chops for this recipe. So I felt some added pressure that this better be a good meal since poor Kevin had to drive all the way back to the store to get the main ingredient.


My whole family loves chorizo, we lived in Southern California for most of my kids' lives, as well as my own. So chorizo and egg burritos on the weekends were something we all looked forward to. We are trying to initiate Kevin into the burrito fan club. You know the whole if you mix just about anything with eggs, cheese, and hot sauce, it goes great in burrito line of thinking? So far he is not buying it, but I am not giving up!


So we got the chorizo cooking and immediately I am happy with the smells coming from my kitchen. Then you blend the roasted red pepper sauce in the food processor and YUMMM it just made my mouth water. Kevin even said it smelled terrific.


I did stick right to the recipe on this one, believe it or not! The only thing is I feel I over salted a bit. I didn't take into account the salt in the chorizo, so make sure you taste the final sauce before you salt.


I was lucky that my grocery store had preground chorizo in their meat case. If your grocery store doesn't carry Spanish chorizo you could substitute the Mexican chorizo, just be aware that Mexican chorizo is fattier and melts into a sauce really, not like ground meat. You also could use linguica. 


I did the pork chops in a cast iron skillet and transfered them to the oven like it called for. But I feel the chops were a bit overdone going by the times listed in the recipe. Kevin felt the same, but Seth and Melissa said they felt they were just fine. Jessi by the way wouldn't even eat them so we have no input from Miss Picky Pants. I mentioned to the family that I felt it was over salted but again the kiddos told me they thought it was really good. 


So all in all it is an iffy review dear friends. I am not sure if I am much help if you use my information to guide you on whether or not you should make this recipe. On the one hand the roasted red pepper sauce was awesome, in fact I am currently trying to think up a recipe I can incorporate the sauce minus the chorizo in. I can say I think the pork chops should be cooked less time. I did get the inch and a half thick pork chops but it was just too much time. It would definitely be too much time for a thinner chop. We also felt the green beans should be cooked a couple of minutes longer.


Here is the finished product. I love it when you can see the steam coming off the plate.

Spanish-Style Pork Chops with Chorizo and Red Pepper Sauce and Green Beans 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons EVOO, plus some for drizzling
• 4 1 1/2 inch thick boneless center cut pork chops
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika (half a palmful)
• salt
• pepper
• 1/4 pound chorizo, casing removed, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped (from about 4 good sized sprigs)
• 1 16 ounce jar of roasted red peppers, drained
• 1/2 cup flay leaf parsley leaves (a couple of generous handfuls)
• 1/4 dry sherry or dry white wine (eyeball it)
• 1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed (available ready prepped in sacks at many markets)
• crusty bread, to pass at the table

Directions


Preheat oven to 350


Heat a large skillet over meduin-high to high heat. Add the 2 tablespoons EVOO. Season the chops with the paprika, salt, and pepper. Place the chops in the skillet and sear the meat to caramelize, about 2 minutes each side. Transfer the chops to a rimmed cookie sheet and place in the oven to finish off, 8 to 10 minutes, until the meat is firm to the touch, but not tough. Remove from the oven and let the chops rest, covered with a piece of aluminum foil, for a few minutes.


While the chops are in the oven, return the skillet to medium heat. Add the diced chorizo and cook, stirring frequently, for two minutes. Add the garlic, onions, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook chorizo and onions for about 3 minutes.


Bring an inch or two of water to a boil in another skillet with a lid.


Process the roasted peppers and the parsley in a food processor until smooth. Add the sherry to the chorizo and onions and stir, then pour in the roasted red pepper puree.Cook for another minute or 2, until the puree is heated through.


Place the green beans in the boiling water. Salt the water and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the beans are just tender. Drain and dress the beans with a drizzle of EVOO, the lemon juice, and salt and pepper.


Place a chop on each dinner plate, top with the chorizo and roasted red pepper sauce, serve with green beans and crusty bread for plate mopping.


serves 4





Pork Chop