I love books and stories. While I would read any book or listen to any story, I had two favorites that mama would read to me. One was “And I Mean It Stanley!” and the other, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”. I can’t tell you how thrilled I was when it became a movie! I think I bought the first tickets ever sold.

 

Being the creative type, mama was notorious for surprises and things completely out of the ordinary. She would wake me up at midnight yelling, “Let’s have a party!” Her “parties consisted of banana sandwiches cut into triangles, sweet pickles and little cubes of cheese. We would eat and giggle and just enjoy being together. At midnight.

Those were the greatest parties ever. I miss them. I miss her.

Given her nature, it wasn’t surprising that when she planned to read “Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs”, she would, well, make meatballs of course! I don’t know if the book drove the dinner or the dinner drove the book, but whichever the case, those were some AMAZING meatballs!

I can’t wait to share mama’s applesauce meatballs with my grandchildren…and with you! But before you make these you have to promise you’ll read the book, or watch the movie with them. They go hand in hand!

Mama’s Applesauce Meatballs with Confetti Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

1 pound ground sirloin or ground chicken

1 cup applesauce

1 onion – grated

1 egg

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

2 tbsp. Thyme

Salt & Pepper to taste

Sauce:

3 cups tomato juice

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp sugar

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix all ingredients above (excluding the sauce ingredients) in mixing bowl. I prefer to use my hands and mix well, but as little as possible to keep the meatballs tender. In another bowl mix all of the sauce ingredients. Form meatballs and place them into a greased baking dish. I prefer to use an ice cream scoop to keep them uniform in size. For smaller meatballs, you can use a cookie scoop. Pour sauce over the meatballs. Bake covered with foil at 350 for 45 minutes or until meatballs no longer show pink in the center. Serve with pasta, rice, egg noodles or mashed potatoes.

Confetti Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 large russet potatoes – fully baked & cubed

1/2 cup Ricotta cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup garlic butter

1 carrot

1 zucchini

1 red onion

scallions

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Place carrots, zucchini, red onion and scallions in a food processor and process until very finely chopped. In a mixing bowl, add cubed baked potatoes (I prefer to leave the skin on for the extra vitamins and flavor), ricotta, sour cream, garlic butter, processed vegetables, salt and pepper. Whip on medium speed until you reach your desired consistency. If they are thicker than you would like, you can add additional sour cream or a splash of milk. Enjoy!

I like easy. Bon Appetit y’all!