Spicy Meatball Pasta Bake - Good Food Cheap

Lets try this again !  I typed this post up a week ago , only to have the whole thing disappear on me just as I was finished up . For someone that has a hard time writing , that was a major bummer....  so I took a week , and figured I would try it again . This time Ill be typing it up on Word , and will copy and paste to blogger.   I just love this series , Good Food Cheap !  What could be better ? Besides free! Hahaha that and its a one pan dinner... which is great as there is not as much clean up .   So ... here we go , first recipe post in 7 weeks for me ... where does the time go ??

You will need :

Meatballs :

3 Cloves of Garlic
2 Small Red Onions
1/2 a Large Red Bell Pepper
2 dried chili's
1lb of  ground beef
1 egg and ...
a touch too much bread crumbs ( kinda knocked the jar over .. ooops :)
To Taste : 
My chili powder
Basil
Smoked paprika
Sea salt
Black pepper,
L&P

Note : Normally I would have added mushrooms too .

Pasta Bake :

1 Pint Jar of Tomatoes, juice and all
1lb of cheese tortellini
2/3 cup of beef stock
1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli
90Gm of Mozzarella

Total Cost :    Just under $10 for dinner for four!

  Start by chopping the veggies for the meatballs :)

Add the veggies to the  beef and the spices , Mix well with your hands , and let rest for at least 30 minutes for flavour developing time :)

Roll them into balls, I decided to go with small ones this time . This made about 36 little ones.

I pan fried them in a spoonful of sunflower oil , for about 5 minutes each ( in two batches ) just long enough to get some colour on the outside of them. Preheat your oven right about now to 350F

Meatballs are browned up and, ready for the oven

 Now its oven time, the tomatoes were added juice and all , the pound of cheese tortellini and the beef stock . set the timer for 15 minutes at 350F 

 At the 15 minute mark , give it all a good stir , and set it for 15 more. Add the chopped broccoli & mozzarella at the 30 minutes in mark , and leave it for 10 more minutes.

 Total oven time 40 minutes :)) Mmm smells good!!

 My finished plate :)) Spicy Red Pepper/Onion Meatballs, with garlic tomatoes, cheese tortellini , broccoli and mozzarella . 

Well there you have one of my favourite one pot cooking meals !  Simple, easy and cheap!  Hahaha what could be better ??   Besides having someone make it for you ?  

This is the first Good Food Cheap post where I didnt break all the costs down ?  Does this work for you ? Or would you prefer a more itemized price list like i have done in the past ?

I hope you have enjoyed my Spicy Meatball Pasta Bake :)) Happy Cooking

Homemade Butter in your Food Pro :))

A couple of months ago , I did a post on how to make your own butter , the old fashioned way , with a little elbow grease and a mason jar :)  Today Ill show you an easier method, using your food pro. Lots of pictures to explain the whole process :) Enjoy  

Ingredients Required : 

Heavy Cream - I used 750 ml , but 500ml makes for a nice sized batch too. 

Food Processor 

Sea Salt - Optional 

Start with 750ml of heavy cream ( 35% ) Ive owned this food pro for 10 years , and have never had a chance to use the mixer attachment until now. 

Noisy attachment that it is :) lol 

5 minutes or so in.. it will appear that nothing is happening, and then .... 

You get good old fashioned whipping cream :))  :) 

Keep going , the volume will increase almost twofold. 

and just when you think nothing is going to happen ... it starts to change ..  this is about 15 minutes in . 

At about twenty minutes it starts to clump up a little, and the butter milk starts separating. 

Twenty five minutes of constant whirring , and you have butter .. time to strain off the butter milk. 

Add a couple of cups of ice water , and turn it back on for 1 minute. 

Strain off the ice water , and you will have butter!!!  

Mmmmm creamy homemade butter !!!  

I saved the butter milk for making a  loaf of bread :)) 

Pack the butter into a seal-able container , add some sea salt if you like :) This will last for about a month in the fridge.  

That's it!! So simple and easy , and you can add any flavourings you like , herbs, salts , chili.. garlic Mmmmm so many options to enjoy , or keep it plain and add flavour later :)  I hope you have enjoyed this recipe.  Happy Cooking :))