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

Mushroom Beef and Ale Soup

Well, I for one am glad that I have finished the 10 recipes with 5 ingredients, as much fun as that was ... I do enjoy just a few more ingredients to a meal.   I have a couple of questions though... did you like the recipe format I used ? compared to my normal method of just showing you what went into the dish ?   Please leave a comment below , thanks.  
Soup , is always a great choice ... its good any season of the year , for lunch , dinner, even breakfast !!   I love a good soup,  my only problem with making them .. is that I tend to turn them into stews!!  So I was determined the other day to create one , that not only was healthy and tasted great , but that actually resembled a soup!!

Ingredients Required :  

1L of beef broth , or stock ( this is the last of my store bought , gone forever from my kitchen now) 

1lb of a variety of mushrooms   I had white , portabello, shitake and oyster 

2 cups of cooked ground beef 

2 onions 

3 cloves of garlic 

1/2 can of your favourite ale. ( This is a local craft brew , very good !! ) 

A couple of pats of butter 

Salt n Pepper to taste

Here is what you will need 

Simply slice everything up , bite sized for the mushrooms and a medium dice for the onion 

Add it right into the soup pot ,  butter in first then all the onions, mushrooms and garlic together . Season with your favourite herbs,  I went with basil , thyme and oregano/:) Med/High heat .  

Once the Mushrooms and onions have softened just a bit , add the beef in .  Give it all a good stir. 

Once the beef is in the pot for about a minute , pour in the liter of stock, and half the can of ale ...  stir , reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes to blend all the flavours.

Meanwhile , you need some good bread to go with soup....  I found this at a local Persian Food market that just opened up nearby :)  What a bargain for $1,50 for a 3 foot long piece of bread.  

And this is were the pot of bubbling soup should go ??!? For whatever reason , either I lost or deleted the shot , or simply forgot to take one.   However its an easy step.    Don't forget to taste the seasoning , adjust as required. 

That's its , ladle some into your favourite soup bowl, grab a few hunks of bread and your set .

Dinner is served, Mushroom Beef and Ale soup!! 

Its not that often that I impress myself, but this dish did!! I'm very happy with this , and will be making it again in the near future , this time with my own beef stock.
I hope you have enjoyed this post , all comments and feedback are welcomed, just click the link below to leave a comment , or if your shy , just select  reaction .. its all good !!
Happy Cooking