The girls and I have had a quiet, simple week. For the first time since EARLY 2020, Mark traveled for work and we scaled back to basics: quick and easy meals, lots of snuggles.
As I’ve said forever as a mom with a spouse who travels, it’s often easier to run the show when he’s gone – it’s just one less schedule to manage and work around. We love simple meals like pancakes and pepperoni pizzas on English muffins with sides of canned green beans and salad. Okay, Piper and I love the salad part so far as the dressing is Caesar or ranch for my littlest gal pal.
I already have an easy meal for next week picked out – recommendations from other moms: priceless.
Pre-kid life, I never took shortcuts in the kitchen and now I look for most any shortcut. Admittedly, I did tease my dad over his disbelief that I made pumpkin pancakes…from scratch. It’s not as though pancakes have anything other than staple ingredients and very simple preparation.
But real talk, the only shortcut I haven’t adopted is pre-chopped onion and don’t tell me the frozen stuff is an adequate substitute. It’s not! Minced garlic from a jar, ginger from a tube, meatballs from the freezer section…hello!? Genius. No working person takes on meatballs on a weeknight. Not. Gunna. Happen.
The frozen ones, though? Love’em. Tossed in a salty, sweet, sticky Asian sauce and served over carb-y delicious noodles with a décor of thinly sliced carrots? My family was SO impressed. I mean, we first eat with our eyes, right? They loved it – the look, the taste, and if there were leftovers to go around, certainly those, too. Enjoy!
Sticky Asian Meatballs with Noodles
This super simple recipe offers BIG flavors that the whole family will love!
Ingredients
- 8 oz dry thick spaghetti or udon noodles
- 28 frozen turkey meatballs, thawed
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp grated ginger
- ½ cup hoisin sauce
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp sriracha
- 2 carrots, peeled into ribbons using a veggie peeler
- 6 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tsp sesame seeds, for serving
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add pasta and cooking until al dente, 7-9 minutes, according to package directions. Drain and keep hot.
- Meanwhile, heat the sesame oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the garlic and ginger; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the hoisin sauce, rive vinegar, honey, soy sauce, and sriracha; bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes or until sauce is thickened.
- Add meatballs to the pot with the sauce and stir to coat. Cook for 2-3 minutes before serving with pasta, carrots, green onion, and sesame seeds.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Pure Wow
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 7 meatballs with 1 cup noodlesAmount Per Serving: Calories: 530Total Fat: 14.0gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 1125mgCarbohydrates: 82.0gFiber: 4.8gSugar: 29.3gProtein: 23.5g
Looking for other quick and easy recipes? Who isn’t!?
- Teriyaki Shrimp Sushi Bowls
- Weeknight Potsticker Stir Fry
- Ground Turkey Skillet with Zucchini, Corn, Black Beans, and Tomato
- California Chicken Flatbread with Chipotle Ranch
- Sheet Pan Buffalo Shrimp and Veggies
- BBQ Chicken Quinoa Bowls
Be well,