Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Spaghetti on the Run with Mary Alford


Greetings everyone.  Mary Alford here. I’m happy to be here with you today. Thanks to Cate Nolan for letting me stop by today.

Who doesn’t love Spaghetti and Meatballs? It’s almost like a comfort food especially when it’s cold out or when you have to feed a big hungry crowd.  Served with some garlic bread, you’ve got yourself a meal.
One of my favorite recipes sites is Allrecipes.com I found this recipe there and it quickly became one of my most used recipes. 
In my February Love Inspired Suspense release, Rocky Mountain Pursuit, my main characters Jase and Reyna share a romantic meal of spaghetti while hiding out from some very bad guys. Jase and Reyna didn’t have much time to prepare their meal. They used premade sauce, but I guess if you were on the run, it would taste wonderful. I hope you’re not on the run and can take the time to try out this recipe and enjoy it. It’s well worth the prep.    




Italian Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs


Ingredients
          MEATBALLS
          1 pound lean ground beef
          1 cup fresh bread crumbs
          1 tablespoon dried parsley
          1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
          1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
          1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
          1 egg, beaten
          SAUCE
          3/4 cup chopped onion
          5 cloves garlic, minced
          1/4 cup olive oil
          2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
          2 teaspoons salt
          1 teaspoon white sugar
          1 bay leaf
          1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
          3/4 teaspoon dried basil
          1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
1.         In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder and beaten egg. Mix well and form into 12 balls. Store, covered, in refrigerator until needed.
2.         In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent. Stir in tomatoes, salt, sugar and bay leaf. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 90 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, basil, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and meatballs and simmer 30 minutes more. Serve.

About Rocky Mountain Pursuit:
IDENTITY: CONFIDENTIAL
Everyone believes agent Jase Bradford is dead—everyone but Reyna Peterson. Only he can protect her now that someone wants the information her CIA husband died to secure. As the one member of their spy team not killed, Jase must remain in the shadows. Yet when Reyna leads the enemy right to his mountain refuge and blows his cover, Jase risks his life for hers. As his best friend's beautiful widow scales the walls around his heart, whether out of loyalty or love, he makes it his duty to secure her safety. But when their pursuers trap them in the snowy Colorado mountains, will it become his final mission?






About Mary


MARY ALFORD was inspired to become a writer after reading romantic suspense greats Victoria Holt and Phyllis Whitney. Soon creating characters and throwing them into dangerous situations that test their faith came naturally for Mary. In 2012 Mary entered the Speed Dating contest hosted by Love Inspired Suspense and later received “the call”. Writing for Love Inspired Suspense has been a dream come true for Mary.


17 comments:

  1. I'm still up working and left over spaghetti and meat balls sounds wonderful. I'll be right over.

    Congratulations on your release, btw. I love the Rocky Mountains (set my books there too) and this release looks wonderful!

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    1. Lunch time here, so I wish someone would deliver them to me.

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  2. Mary, welcome to Yankee Belle!!!! So good to have you here, and one of our favorite go-to meals is spaghetti and meatballs and red sauce because I can make a cauldron and enjoy it for days... and anything that cuts down on cooking time works for me!

    Thank you for this!!!

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    1. Do you actually make the meatballs, Ruthy? I love meatballs, but I generally just make meat sauce without going to all the trouble of making the meatballs.

      I think I just called myself a lazy cook. ;)

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  3. Hi Mary! It's good to see you "behind the counter" at the Cafe!

    I usually make spaghetti with ground beef in the sauce, but I love, love meatballs. I'm going to have to try this the next time I make it. :)

    I'm going to have to look for your book. I love reading suspense, and the Rocky Mountains is one of my all-time favorite settings.

    Thanks for the recipe!

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    1. Yes, Jan. that's me too. Just the meat in the sauce.

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  4. Hi, Mary! Welcome to the cafe. Spaghetti is indeed comfort food. Especially when it's served with garlic bread. Ah, those comforting carbs.

    The book sounds great. Love the Rockies. Which is why my books are set in Colorado. Gives me an excuse to go visit. ;)

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    1. You've all got me wanting to head west.

      Just as long as I don't have to do that mountain ledge drive!

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  5. We're so glad you joined us today, Mary! Spaghetti is one of my favorite meals! And I make it often. I can't wait to try this recipe!

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    1. I should poll the cafe guests. What form is your favorite pasta?

      I do love spaghetti, but sometimes I want something like rotelli that is actually more to chew. Hope that makes sense.

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  6. Hi everyone. Sorry to be late joining. The storms took out our electricity around 3am and it just came back. I'm thrilled to be here. I'd say my favorite pasta is spaghetti followed by ravioli. I have a recipe for stuff jumbo pasta shells that I'm going to try this week. The recipe looks delicious.

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  7. Sorry about the power outages, Mary. Scary storms!

    I was just thinking that I haven't made stuffed shells in a really long time. I like to do a ricotta/spinach variation too.

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    1. This stuffed shells is different then the ones I've seen in that it uses chive and onion cream cheese.

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  8. Oh yum, you inspired my dinner. Major switch though since I only had penne pasta and I'm a vegetarian but I loaded my sauce up with lots of veggies. Kind like eating lasagna in a bowl!

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  9. This looks like a yummy recipe Mary!! I'm going to have to print off a copy to put in my recipe box. Now I'm hungry....lol!! Thanks for sharing :-)

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    1. Right, Trixi? I've been craving spaghetti and meatballs all day.

      Thanks for stopping by the cafe.

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