Scratch Spaghetti Os with Meatballs

With tiny Italian sausage meatballs and anelli pasta in a rich tomato sauce, these scratch Spaghetti Os are so much better than what you can buy in the can! 

When I was a kid, the Spaghetti Os with meatballs were a treat. (You can buy them without meatballs, but why would you?!) I don’t recall that my mom bought them very often because Hamburger Helper made a meal for the whole family and that can of pasta served pretty much one of us.

The Spaghetti Os slogan was "the neat round spaghetti you can eat with a spoon" and which child didn't want that? It was a favorite for sure. If you grew up outside the US, you might know these as Heinz spaghetti hoops which unfortunately never came with meatballs. 

Fast forward a bunch of years and the only time I really bought Spaghetti Os for my girls was when we had a long flight on our itinerary. When we were living in Paris, a friend took the six-hour flight back to D.C. with her infant and toddler and the elevator that was supposed to bring the food up from the hold for serving malfunctioned. 

Desperate parents of small hungry (crying!) children were beside themselves with no help in sight. Finally, the beleaguered flight attendants served the cold sandwiches that were put on board for the final meal before landing. The restless hoard was fed but this story taught us all a lesson. Do not board a plane with children without also laying in supplies!

 

After that, I not only packed snacky things, but also the small pots (with the pull-off lids) of Spaghetti Os and Mac and Cheese. Sure, they were supposed to be heated in a microwave prior to consumption but hungry girls will eat them at room temperature as well and with relish. 

Scratch Spaghetti Os

For the meatballs, I use fresh hot Italian sausage for the flavor it adds to the sauce. If you prefer, you can use your favorite meatball recipe. When I don’t use sausage meat, this is mine. 

Ingredients

Olive oil

4 cloves  garlic

5 medium ripe red tomatoes

3 oz or 85g tomato paste (half the small can or tin)

3 1/4 cups or just shy of 3/4 liter chicken stock (fresh or made with cubes – either would work)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Black pepper

1 lb or 450g pasta rings aka anelli or anelletti

1 1/4 lbs Italian sausage, pinched off into small pieces and rolled into tiny balls, like this!

Optional to serve: Grated Parmesan and a sprinkle of chopped parsley

Method

Preheat oven  to 400°F or 200°C. Put the meatballs in a baking pan single file and separated so they will cook evenly. Bake the meatballs for about 10 minutes then turn to broil for a further 5-7 minutes to brown the tops. You want them quite dark so that they will add flavor to the sauce as they simmer in it later. That is a teaspoon to give you an idea of how small you want the meatballs to be.

Remove the pan from the oven and leave to cool tilted a bit to one side so any grease that baked off the meatballs can be easily removed. 

Pour the oil off and then add a little of the hot stock to the pan so you can scrape up the lovely browned bits stuck there and add them to your stock. Use the spatula to get every bit off. 

Peel and chop the garlic finely. 

Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add in the chopped garlic and let it fry over a low fire for just a few minutes, until it softens slightly. You don’t want it to brown, which makes garlic bitter.

Meanwhile, halve your tomatoes and remove the core and seeds.  Chop the tomato into small pieces. 

Add the chopped tomatoes to the garlic and give the pot a quick stir. Cook over a medium heat for about 5-7 minutes or until the tomatoes begin to soften and the juice starts to come out of them a little. 

Add the stock, the 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, a few good grinds of fresh black pepper and the tomato paste to the pot.

Cook for 20 minutes on a low to medium heat.  

Meanwhile, as the sauce simmers, cook your pasta rings according to package instructions, for about 2 minutes before it would be al dente. (My package said 15-17 minutes for al dente, so I drained them at 13 minutes.) Drain the pasta and reserve a half cup or 120ml of the pasta water. 

Take the pan of sauce off of the stove and allow it to cool for a few minutes. Carefully puree the soup in a blender or with a hand blender straight in the pot until completely smooth. Do not splash and burn yourself! Add the sauce back to the pot and then add in the meatballs. Simmer uncovered for about 10-15 minutes. 

When you are about ready to serve, stir in the cooked pasta rings and cook for about 2 minutes for pasta to reach al dente. If the sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved pasta water. Serve immediately!

 

Since we are making scratch Spaghetti Os, feel free to serve them with freshly grated Parmesan. This is better than your childhood favorite and deserves a sprinkle of cheese and chopped parsley.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and at my instigation, my fellow bloggers are sharing recipes for homemade dishes that they loved from their childhood. Check out the links!

• Chili Mac from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Ham and Mushroom Breakfast Burritos from Making Miracles
• Homemade Lorna Doone Cookies from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Homemade Wonder Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• K-Mart Sub Sandwiches from Palatable Pastime
• Kempakki Dosa from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Meat Chilly Fry by Sneha's Recipe
• Meatballs with Mushroom Gravy from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Mum's Buitoni from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Scratch Spaghetti Os with Meatballs from Food Lust People Love

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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