Spaghetti and Meatballs

Meatballs:

* 1 pound ground beef
* 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
* 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
* 2 tbs. olive oil
* ½ cup of bread crumbs
* ½ cup of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
* 2 large eggs
* ½ tsp of oregano
* ½ tsp of basil
* 1 ½ tsp of salt

Cook onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.

Preheat oven to 400°.

In a large bowl, add the onion/garlic mixture and all the other ingredients. Incorporate everything by hand until well mixed. Firmly form 2”meatballs by hand.

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Heat olive oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. Brown meatballs and place on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes in the oven.

Tomato Sauce

Prepare Tomato sauce while meatballs are baking:

* 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 1 medium onions, finely chopped
* 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
* 1 tbs. of basil
* 1 tsp of salt
* 1 tsp black pepper
* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 cup of finely chopped parsley.

Cook onions and garlic in oil in a pot over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Stir in tomatoes with juice reserved in a separate bowl. Simmer sauce, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened for 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and half of the reserved liquid until sauce reduces for 5 minutes. *Add parsley at the end for garnish.

Putting it all together:

Cook a 1 lb box of spaghetti to al dente, drain, and plate it. Place a few spoonfuls of sauce on top of the noodles followed by a couple tablespoons of parsley and grated cheese. Place a meatball on top and serve.

Falafel and Tazikki

FALAFEL:

• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 dash pepper
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (I only used a tsp)
  
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 425.
   
2. In a large bowl mash chickpeas until thick and pasty; don't use a blender, as the consistency will be too thin. In a blender, process onion, parsley and garlic until smooth. Stir into mashed chickpeas.
3. In a small bowl combine egg, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon juice and baking powder. Stir into chickpea mixture along with olive oil. Slowly add bread crumbs until mixture is not sticky but will hold together; add more or less bread crumbs, as needed. Form 8 balls and then flatten into patties.
4. Spray oil a baking sheet. Place patties on sheet and bake on the bottom rack about 25 minutes flipping once.
5. Serve in pitas with tzatziki sauce or hummus.

TZATZIKI SAUCE

• 1 (6 ounce) container plain yogurt
• 1/2 cucumber - peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Combine all ingredients and chill for 30 minutes. We added a little extra dill and some lemon juice!

Frances' Bistro Roast Chicken

Frances "I make this on a regular basis. The prep is quick even though the cooking time is long. Sometimes I put this on time bake at 400 for 1 hour 15 min. Serve the roasted heads of garlic on the side. Squeeze out the pulp and use it as a spread on baguette slices or as a condiment for the chicken. You can omit the garlic if you want. Makes 2 servings."

Ingredients

2 chicken leg quarters (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 whole garlic heads
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°.

Rinse chicken with cold water; pat dry. Trim excess fat. Loosen skin from thigh and leg by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. Combine basil and next 5 ingredients (basil through pepper). Rub herb mixture under loosened skin. Place chicken on a broiler pan. Insert meat thermometer into meaty part of thigh, making sure not to touch bone.

Remove white papery skin from garlic heads (do not peel or separate the cloves). Wrap each head separately in foil; place on broiler pan with chicken. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 450° (do not remove chicken from oven). Bake 30 minutes or until thermometer registers 180°. Cover chicken loosely with foil; let stand 10 minutes. Discard skin.