Holiday season is just around the corner, and even more than the gifts this time of year makes me think of food and family. I miss my mother and father dearly as I haven’t seen them in years (it is so difficult with them living extremely far away). Luckily, I have 2 beautiful kids that keep me busy all day, every day. They help me uphold the family traditions I grew up with myself by spending time cooking, baking and enjoying long meals together. We love bringing extended family and friends in to join our special dinners and lunches. This is something that my parents also did every Saturday or Sunday and a tradition I want to continue to uphold. We believe every meal will create special family moments around the table; it’s magical that food brings us together and closer.
While preparing meals for guests is very important, spending quality time with them is of course at least as important. This can be a tricky juggling job. My mom used to plan a barbeque and ask guests to help prepare the meals as they arrived. Everyone would get involved in prepping and had a lot of fun together. Each time it was an exciting project! This is another tradition that I want to keep going in our family.
While preparing meals for guests is very important, spending quality time with them is of course at least as important. This can be a tricky juggling job. My mom used to plan a barbeque and ask guests to help prepare the meals as they arrived. Everyone would get involved in prepping and had a lot of fun together. Each time it was an exciting project! This is another tradition that I want to keep going in our family.
It doesn't matter how much food we have or whether it’s simple or gourmet, we never want to skip a dinner at the table together. My days are hectic and time flies by so fast, I found that it really helps to follow a simple meal plan for my family. Knowing what I’m going to be cooking tonight and the next night gives me a little reassurance that I won’t have to panic about getting dinner ready. Even though I like some planning in this department, I don’t mind winging at least part of the recipes. If you have been following my page, you know that often my recipes grab just about anything I can find in the pantry. It causes less stress and makes things pretty affordable. An amazing companion for me in the kitchen has been Ragu® Pasta Sauces. It's like having my own chef, I just need to twist open a jar and add some to a dish to make it more magical.
It’s not just for pasta, either. I use it everything from sandwiches to mixing it in with eggplant and other veggies, and from seafood sauces to homemade pizzas. It works great as a dipping sauce, and when I do use it for pasta it works great as a flavorful pasta sauce on its own, and brings out great taste if I use it in a meat sauce. My kids love bread so much and I often make them a bruschetta or a baked string cheese dip with Ragu® sauce. Our favorite recipes however would be any baked pasta with veggies and meats! There’s just something about a hot cheese dish mixed with some great pasta sauce, there’s really nothing like it!
Celebrating the Magic in Mealtime - Crockpot Meatballs
Ingredients
- For Meatballs :
- 2 lbs Ground Beef
- 1 cup Bread Crumb
- ½ cup milk
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon oregano dried
- ½ tablespoon pepper
- ½ tablespoon garlic powder
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ½ tablespoon salt
- Crockpot :
- 1 jar Ragu® Old Word Style Traditional Sauce
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 1 can tomato puree
Instructions
- Mix all meatball ingredients in a bowl
- Stir together and use your bare hands to meat mixture into medium size balls
- In a slow cooker,
- In a slow cooker, place the meatballs, Ragu® sauce, crushed tomatoes, and tomato puree.
- Cook on low for 6 - 8 hours or medium for 3-4 hours
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Ragu® . The opinions and text are all mine.
Mommy Levy
we don't have a slow cooker. I want to try this.. maybe I'll just fry the balls or steam it. Thanks for sharing your recipe