Black Bean "Meatballs," Marinara, and Spaghetti Squash Goodness

As I mentioned before, we are leaving Alaska and heading back to Arkansas. If you have moved before, then you are familiar with the issue of groceries - not buying too much, using up what you have, etc. Well, yesterday I was trying to figure out how to make some meals out of what we have. I need to add that when I say meals, I mean they need to be kid-friendly/kid-palatable for my uber-picky munchkin. After trying to figure out what would work best, I decided to try to make some black bean meatballs. My kiddo LOVES spaghetti and meatballs, so I figured that I could probably disguise the actual ingredients. (I may totally trick my kid in to eating stuff. Don't judge me. If it were left up to him, he'd live off of grilled cheese and boxed mac and cheese.)

Marinara Sauce 

So, I admit I've never actually made my own spaghetti sauce before. I knew I had some frozen tomatoes, and a can of crush tomatoes and spices. So, I just threw it all in the pot and let it simmer for about an hour.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 large tomatoes, seeded and diced (about 3 cups diced)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In one pot, add tomatoes (whole and canned), water, and olive oil. 
2. Add seasonings as desired. 
3. Allow to heat and cook until the the sauce is smooth to chunky. The sauce should be ready when the water cooks down and it is thicker in consistency. 

Spaghetti Squash 

Ingredients: 

• 1 Spaghetti squash
• 1 Cookie sheet with a shallow bit of water in it

Directions:

1. Halve the squash length-wise. 
2. Scoop out the seeds. 
3. Place the squash cut side down on a shallow baking sheet with about a cm of water in it. 
4. Bake it at 425 degrees farenheit for about 40 minutes. 
5. The squash should then be very tender. Use a fork to pull the flesh out of the squash. It should automatically come out in strings like spaghetti!

Black Bean Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 15 oz. Black Beans
• 1.5 cups gluten free oat flour
• 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp Garlic powder
• 1 tsp Onion powder

Directions:

1. If you are doing these while your squash cooks, you don't need to preheat the oven. If you aren't using the squash, then preheat your oven to 425. 
2. Add all of the ingredients in to a food processor. Process until well blended. Let them set for about 5 minutes to allow the mix to thicken.
3. Use a spoon to scoop out the mixture to make your meatballs.
4. Place on a well-greased cookie sheet.
5. Bake for about 8 minutes on each side in the 425 degree oven. 

You can serve it like I did for my son, topped with a bit of mozzarella. He loved it!