What I Ate: Spaghetti & Meatballs

I was out of town for about a month, from mid-April to mid-May. I always enjoy the occasional lazy hotel stay. I mean, having someone else make my bed and clean my bathroom is pretty indulgent. However, not having access to my own kitchen is rough and possibly the worst part of being on the road (in addition to being away from my pup). And even if I'm only gone for a week, I always feel gross from eating too much takeout or I feel malnourished from not eating anything because I'm too lazy to go out for food.

Suffice it to say, I was pretty excited to be back at home to be reunited with my dog and my kitchen. My first meal back was a super simple spaghetti and meatballs, using some of my favorite standard recipes with a slight twist. I used my basic tomato sauce recipe, except I used fresh oregano from my garden and a splash of white wine. And I used my simple meatball recipe, except I stuffed them with a little chunk of cheese. I know not everyone will agree, but because I love cooking, making dinner on my first night back was a lovely therapeutic welcome home for me.

It doesn't get much more comforting than spaghetti and meatballs, does it?

I snipped a generous sprig of oregano from our garden. Planting fresh oregano was inspired by our recent trip to Italy, where we had some super delicious pasta that was unmistakably seasoned with fresh, fragrant oregano. And I know you're probably wondering how the heck could I want to eat spaghetti and meatballs after indulging in really good authentic Italian food? Well, honestly, Americanized Italian food still has a place in my heart. It's got a homey familiarity and seriously, just because it's not authentic doesn't mean it isn't delicious. It's so good.

To put an extra delicious spin on these meatballs, I grabbed some mozzarella cheese, cut it into chunks, and then wrapped them up with the meatball mixture.

Cooking the meatballs in the sauce made them extra tender and flavorful.

And of course, the pasta was tossed in the sauce to really infuse it with the flavor of the sauce.

Check out that melty cheese string!

xoxo.