'Cherry Tomato Sauce with Cheat's Fresh Pasta'

Hello! This was a really delicious dish and it was really quick and easy to make. This would be perfect for a quick family meal! It serves 6 with quite a bit left over. 

~Ingredients: 1 and a 1/2 pints of ripe cherry tomatoes, 4 cloves of garlic, a small bunch of fresh basil, 1 pound of fresh lasagne, salt and pepper, olive oil, 2 pats of butter, 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar, 4 ounces of parmesan cheese.

(I didn't have fresh pasta so I just used regular penne pasta and it still turned out really well).

So 1st I chopped all of the tomatoes in a half and measured out the 1 and a 1/2 pints of them. I just left them in a bowl until I was ready to use them later. Then I put the pasta on the stove, there is so much of it so waiting for the pasta to boil will take some time, so I used this time to chop everything else. I chopped the garlic, and then I grabbed a bunch of basil, took off all of the leaves (I put them aside for later) and chopped all of the basil stalks. When the pasta was actually cooking, I started to cook the sauce. In a large frying pan on a medium heat, I added a couple of lugs of olive oil and the garlic. When the garlic was brown, I added the butter and waited for it to melt. When the butter was fully melted, I added the tomatoes. After stirring it, I added the basil stalks and half of the basil leaves. After stirring, I added the balsamic vinegar and some salt and pepper. I left this to cook, turning it to a low heat for the last few minutes while the pasta was still cooking. While it was still cooking I grated all of the parmesan. When the pasta was finished I drained it and added it to the saucepan. I gave it a good stir and added half of the parmesan. I stirred it and added the rest of the basil leaves and some salt and pepper. Then it was ready to serve :). It was so simple to make but lovely to eat! I just served it with a plain side salad. 

'Meatballs and Pasta'

Hello all! I am so sorry I haven't blogged in so long, I have been extremely busy. I cooked this meal last Friday and I think it turned out really well. I cooked it for my parents and 2 friends, I'll definitely be using this recipe again!

~Ingredients: 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary, 14 cream or plain crackers, 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard, 1 pound of ground beef, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1 large egg, salt and pepper, olive oil, a small bunch of fresh basil, 1 medium onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 of fresh red chile, 2 x 14oz cans of diced tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, spaghetti, and parmesan for grating

I started by preparing the meatballs, I did this in the morning and then left them in the fridge until they were ready to cook. I picked the rosemary leaves off of the stalks and finely chopped them and put them in a large bowl. I then wrapped the crackers in a tea towel and crushed them until most of them were crushed. I then added them into the bowl and continued to crush them with the back of a wooden spoon. I then added the mustard, oregano, and ground meat. I then cracked the egg into bowl and added some salt and pepper. Now comes the gross part, you have to mash it together with your hands. For this I put on some rubber gloves, it was freezing because the beef had just come out of the fridge. Then when it is in a large ball, cut it into 4 even parts, and roll each part into another ball. Then divide each ball again into 6 smaller parts, and roll into balls again. Then put them on a plate, drizzle them with olive oil, jiggle them around a bit so they are well covered, cover them, and then place them in the fridge until they are needed.

Now, when you are ready it is time to chop all the vegetables and cook the meatballs. First, put the kettle on to boil (for the pasta). First, put the largest frying pan you have onto a medium heat and add a large lug of olive oil. Squeeze all the meatballs into the frying pan and cook for 8 minutes, or until cooked, constantly turning the meatballs until all the sides are cooked. Afterwards, take the meatballs out of the frying pan and place onto an enamel plate. Then peel and finely slice the onion. Now you should put the same large frying pan onto a medium heat and add 2 gollups of olive oil. When the olive oil is hot, throw in the onion and cook and stir around for 7 minutes or until they are golden. You do not want undercooked, and crunchy onions in your sauce. Now chop the red chile and the garlic, and pick off some large basil leaves. When the onions are cooked, add these 3 ingredients into the frying pan. Then also add the tomatoes and the balsamic vinegar. Then when you have seasoned the sauce add the meatballs into the sauce, and leave to cook on a low heat until your pasta is ready,

Serve the meatballs on top of some spaghetti on a large plate. I also served some garlic bread with mine. I think this meal turned out really well!