Moroccan Meatballs on a Sunday

If I have not been as attentive as I should be, the truth is I just got over being sick.

Most of the time I get a stuffy head and power through because I have to, because kids and husband depend on me. I take something so I can sleep at night and keep going.

But this time was not that easy. I started getting the chills last Wednesday which came with a stuffed head somewhere on Thursday. I still had duties that included bringing the Youth Group to help with set-up for our church’s Pancake supper on Friday.

Friday morning came with a fever, stuffed head and the desire to stay in bed. But I sent off the kids who were not sick, comforted the one who was, and powered through one last errand run before calling another church member to take my place at the ticket booth.

I vaguely remember the Easter Egg Hunt the next day. I made it through a job interview and then went home. Where I went to bed and stayed there. Till Monday or was it Tuesday. I remember feeling much better yesterday. That is when I got out of the house although I did get out a little bit on Tuesday as well.

So now it is Thursday and in the last two days the 16-year-old has gotten the full blast. He has not been out and about since yesterday morning. The 8-year-old threw up yesterday but is looking better today.

But that is not what I came to share. I do look a others’ blogs, especially those on food and fashion. Some days that is all I can focus on.

I lightened the original picture.

So the other weeks I knew I wanted make Moroccan Meatballs and knew that I had seen it recently. My sister-in-law has a good recipe I completely forgot about, so my apologies to her. My recipe instead came from the excellent blog of FrugalFeeding.com.

Maybe it is the picture of a handsome man in the kitchen or maybe it is the delicious recipes he puts up on a regular basis. I read his posts every time they hit my reader. I was inspired by his posts to make calzones although mine are not as pretty.

A few weeks ago, I decided my Sunday supper would include his Moroccan Meatballs recipes.

His recipe calls for meatballs made your way and has a little discussion on what  makes for the best meatballs. I personally use a 1 1/2lbs. of ground meat, 2 eggs, about a cup or more of bread crumbs and some spices of my choice. Then I roll them into the size I want and bake in a covered pan for about 20 minutes in a 350 oven. If I am making meatballs for spaghetti, I put Parmesan cheese, oregano, and basil in the mixture.

While the meatballs were in the oven, I began to chop onions, green peppers, and red peppers  before sauting them in the fry pan. In the crock pot, I put in canned tomatoes, garbonzo beans, 3 bay leafs, the celery I forgot earlier, the raisens, spices, honey, sauteed pepper and onions. I left out the chilies because  my kids are not fans of  hot foods.

In the crockpot and ready to serve.

Once the meatballs were done baking, I put them in the crockpot with the sauce mixture to continue simmering for a few hours. I took out the bay leaves before serving.

When it was time to eat, I made rice for the base. I put pears along this dish to have something bland and soothing to eat with it.

While there were leftovers that night, they did nt last long. The kids enjoyed the meal with the exception of the garbonzo beans. If I had to do it again, I would have only put in half as much. They were tasty but almost too many in the pot.

The husband and the 16-year-old ate them the next day and loved them even more.

Success!

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It’s Nothing, Just a Little Cold

I am going to confess something to everyone who stops by.

 I have been sick for the last two or three weeks.

Picture by Penny Wise

It wasn’t something big like cancer or a chronic illness that is not going away anytime soon which is why I feel so wimpy. I am not going in for surgery or have dialysis or any major procedure.

It was a cold.

Nose running, coughing all of the time and feeling worn-out tired without doing anything worth feeling tired about. There was no fever or achiness, just tiredness and a cough and a drippy nose along with a clouding of the head. I read blogs about people who have beaten cancer or dealing with MS or fibromyalgia only to feel guilty. I should feel so lucky that it is only a cold.

 I spent most of the Christmas season not being able to guzzle eggnog in the way I like to do because it would make the snot population grow. That is a crying shame, except I do not want to cry either. That gets the headache going.

 By the way I am knocking back Ny-Quil, I should buy stock in the company. The next med I need to be on continuously is Tylenol to kill the sinus headache. All this bright sunlight on the snow is putting a small dagger right above my right eye despite my new Fossil sunglasses my mother gave me (love, love love these sunglasses).

All this sleeping and resting has allowed me to take naps with the kids, cuddle with the husband while he watches the Bears make an improbable run to the playoffs and enjoy my avocado walls in the bedroom. I am also thankful for figuring out having a flannel top sheet and cotton fitted sheet is the best way to be winter warm and not too hot.

 I have looked at all of the magazines and catalogues by my bedside and started figuring out what items I need to rejuvenate the wardrobe I already have. I have tried reading the simplest of mystery books only to find I hate, hate, hate the Faith Fairchild series. My attempts at River-Horse by William Least Heat-Moon have been disastrous.

Picture by M. Conners

So if you will excuse me, it is about time to have another cup of tea and a little something sweet. Then I plan to find my way to the couch and sleep a little more.

Thank God the husband is willing to give the dog his afternoon run walk.