Thursday, December 6, 2012

Don't sneeze

On top of spaghetti
all covered with cheese
I lost my poor meatball
when somebody sneezed

It rolled off the table
and onto the floor
and then my poor meatball
rolled out of the door

This is the meatball song. When we were little, it was a funny song that my sister and I loved to sing -- especially at the dinner table whenever my mom made meatballs and rice.

My mom's meatballs and rice is my favorite dinner of all time. I could eat it all day and everyday, for forever and ever. It's just that good. 

I never have been able to replicate the recipe to make it taste just like the way mom makes it. I once tried to make it, and put in too much lemon juice and it became a sour and gross mess. The second time I tried to tackle the recipe I got all the ingredients right, but somehow the sauce came out really runny and it wasn't the same consistency as it is when my mom cooks it. So for this blog post I called upon the help of my mother, since every time I try this recipe it flops, and together we made a successful batch of meatballs and rice.

This is really the most delicious thing ever. It's meatballs covered in a sweet and slightly sour sauce over rice, and the sauce tastes great on the rice too. Knowing that it's my favorite food, my mother makes this recipe every year for my birthday and each time I eat it I remember past birthdays and the fun times we had. I also remember singing the spaghetti song when I was little. My sister and I would burst out laughing because we thought it was hilarious that someone could sneeze a meatball out the door. I'll also remember cooking with my mother, and maybe someday I will finally be able to cook like my mother.

Mom's Meatballs and Rice

Ingredients:


The Meatballs:                                                                            The Sauce:
  • 1 egg                                                                        2 cans condensed tomato soup
  • 1 cup uncooked quick oats                                       1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 lb ground beef                                                       6 tablespoons lemon juice
  • salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, combine ingredients for the meatballs, and mix it all together with your hands. Don't be afraid of raw meat. As long as you wash your hands after touching the meatballs everything will be fine.





2. When the ingredients for the meatballs are all mixed together, roll out one inch meatballs and place them in the baking dish. Roll the meatballs in your hands so that they make little meat balls. It's just like when you used to roll out playdoh into balls when you were little, except this time you're rolling meat into little balls. Wash your hands after this step.




3. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce together in a bowl. 
4. When the sauce is completely mixed, pour it over the meatballs
 until all the meatballs are completely covered. You want the meatballs to be completely covered so that they don't dry out while cooking. When the sauce is over all the meatballs, cook them in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour. Serve warm over rice.