Spaghetti and Meatballs

5yo is definitely the pickiest eater. (Closely followed by her father.) So when we read Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban I think she could relate. When I got it at the library, I just grabbed it because I remembered reading Frances books when I was little, but I didn't know it was about a picky eater. Frances is a girl (raccoon or something) who ate only bread and jam until she was so sick of it she begged for spaghetti and meatballs. My favorite part is when Frances, who is always making up songs, sings, "I know how a jam jar feels, FULL....OF......JAM!"

So after reading this book, I asked 5yo if she would like to have spaghetti and meatballs for dinner sometime. She said she would. And today as I was making the meatballs, I asked her if she'd like to help. She said she would. And while she was rolling meatballs with me, I asked her if she was going to try them. She said she would.

She didn't.

But saying she would is progress. Really it is. And by the time she actually tries them, maybe I'll have perfected the recipe.

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 egg
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t oregano
1 t thyme
1 t sage
pepper
1/2 c parmesan cheese

Mix all the ingredients, form into meatballs. I like them small so it made 25 meatballs. Bake in a 375 oven for 25 minutes. Or broil for ten minutes, turn, and broil ten minutes on the other side.

They were a little tough in texture, so I think I'm going to experiment. But not by using less lean beef, which is probably the easiest solution. A few recipes I looked at called for bread crumbs and water, which might help the texture, and next time I will definitely broil instead of bake so they aren't sitting in the gummy, yucky runoff while they bake.

My favorite part of these (which considering I don't like ground beef I was surprised how much I liked them) was the sage. I was the lucky winner of a potted herb garden several months ago at a church activity, and I love having tasty fresh herbs on hand. Amazingly, my little pot is (mostly) still alive, and the fresh herbs were great in the meatballs.