cozy dinners, chaotic days pt1

mini meatball pasta

I want to show you more real life dinners that we make on a heavy rotation, that my kids will actually eat and that fits our protein, fiber and healthy fats all into one meal.

This is a really simple concept but we always go back to it because everyone loves it and it comes together super fast. I usually make double batches of the meatballs and the pasta to feed my kids for lunch the next day. They never complain!

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the easiest mini meatball pasta:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 head of Italian parsley
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• Salt + pepper to taste
• 1 egg
• 1 jar fav marinara
• 3 tbsp cream cheese
• 1 bag of fav pasta (try to use a good one, slow dried bronze cut, makes a big difference on how your gut feels after)

MAKE IT

1. Boil pasta according to directions.
2. Make the meatballs: in a large bowl combine the ground beef breadcrumbs, parsley, and seasoning, salt + pepper. Mix well.
3. Heat a nonstick with a little avocado or olive oil on medium/high heat.
4. Roll the meat mix into balls, I use a cookie scoop to measure so they’re all the same size and cook evenly.
5. Place the meatballs in heated skillet. Don’t overcrowd the pan, let there be a little room between each meatball, just so they’re aren’t touching and can get crispy on all sides.
6. Flip to other side once bottom side is browned and cooked.
7. Continue with all meatballs, then remove and set aside
8. Drain the pan of the extra oil, then assemble the whole dish in that pan so no extra dishes to clean 👏
9. Pour in the marinara, heat on medium until warm and then turn off the heat and add in the cream cheese. Stir it together
10. Add in cooked pasta. Top with meatballs and shredded parm. Enjoyyyyy 🙂