Sep 11 2015
I was hungry for something different so I took a quart jar of Italian gravy from the freezer and thought of having it with pasta. I thought some spaghetti squash would be better and would make some Italian meatballs.
It was a cool day and rained all afternoon so my plans to do it all outside was nixed again. I had a small spaghetti squash and did it early in the oven then just reheated it at supper time. I like to cut them in half raw and remove the seeds and bake on a sheet pan. I place foil on the pan, a little water and a pat of butter then place the halves over the butter cut side down. I bake at 385 deg. and this small one was done at 45 minutes. When a fork easily pierces the skin they are done.
You can cook them whole first then cut in two but for me it’s easier to remove the seeds when they are raw. It is probably safer since they are hard to cut in half when raw, it’s a wonder I have never cut myself!
I made up the meatballs and in the fridge a couple hours before smoking and cut up some small sweet peppers. I put the sauce on to simmer and cook down for a couple of hours. The Italian gravy is on the thin side and wanted to thicken it some.
I did the meatballs in my Traeger at 180 deg. for an hour and a half. I had a sweet onion with the top cut off and sliced part way through with some olive oil sprayed on and the cut up peppers I added the last 45 minutes. The onion could have been in the whole time. I was glad my smoker is on my covered deck so I could get them smoked.
When they were done I took inside, heated a skillet and browned the meatballs some, added the onions I had cut up. Cooked a minute then added the peppers and then the sauce. I simmered it for 15 minutes then heated the oven to 375 deg. and did some garlic knots for 4 minutes.
I served the meatballs & sauce over the spaghetti squash I had reheated and topped with some parmesan cheese. That sure tasted good.
Smokin Don
Meatball recipe:
Italian meatballs
1 pound mix of ground beef and sausage
1 egg beaten
A scant ¼ cup half and half
¼ cup Italian style bread crumbs
1 Tablespoon of Penzey’s Italian sausage seasoning
1 Tablespoon of Penzey’s Italian blend
A rounded teaspoon of Penzey’s garlic flakes.
Mix this all together well and form into balls. I made mine a little larger than a golf ball and it made 13.
Don’t pack too tight or they will be dense.
Note: Penzey’s Sausage seasoning is a mix of salt, fennel seed, Tellicherry black pepper and sugar. Their Italian blend is Turkish oregano, basil, marjoram, thyme, and cracked rosemary.
