for you, mrs. gosda

I feel like when anyone asks, "What's your favorite food?" I instinctively respond with "pasta". Now to most people, what we call pasta here in my family would be spaghetti to them, except,  I can't tell you the last time we consumed actual spaghetti. I don't even know if there is a box of spaghetti in this house, rather 8 million boxes of penne. Along with everyone else's spaghetti comes meatballs, right? Well we rarely eat meatballs, yet eat pasta (aka penne with mother's homemade sauce, and nothing else) quite frequently, probably once every two weeks in the summer when dad's gone and B's home. Our pasta is sans meatballs and instead has the pork and beef used to the make the sauce served with it, and some times Italian sausage, but since I dislike pork the sausage is out for me, yet I eat the other pork that's in there. Weird, I don't know, don't ask, I'm an odd duck.

This all being said, it seems all Italian families have spaghetti and meatball recipes passed down from generation to generation, and we probably due, yet no one ever makes meatballs so the recipe must be lost in translation. But, on the rare occasion we do have meatballs, like tonight, because my mother loves to spoil these two: 

 and since they are leaving so very soon, a pasta dinner was clearly in order so this morning I was put to work making meatballs for our little feast tonight. Now my mother hit the jackpot when she found the meatball recipe we have used since the magazine came back in I don't even know when but from the looks of how wrinkly and crinkly it is, it's been around for some time. 


So, Mrs. Gosda, here is the infamous meatball recipe for you to have and make all the meatball you desire. I promise, I will make them with you once Tess leaves because let's be real we'll both be bored out of our minds :)


Basic Meatballs
from Cuisine at home
makes 30-33 meatballs

Stir Together:
1 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
3/4 cup Romano or Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1/2 cup Whole milk (I use 2% and it works just fine)
1/2 cup low-sodium beef broth (I use a 1 bullion cube to 2 cups of boiling water)
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3 eggs, beaten
2 T. dried oregano
1 T. garlic, minced
1 T. kosher salt (or whatever kind of salt you have)
1 T. ground black pepper
2 t. dried basil
1 t. crushed red pepper flakes (I usually half this, or if Al's coming, fourth it. They can get real spicy)


Add; Shape:
2 lb ground chuck


Cover bottom of pan with:
1 cup low-sodium beef brother

Preheat oven to 450

Get all your ingredients out (Thanks Grams for teaching cousin and me this, also to clean as you go..something we often forget to do..whoops)

Stir together all ingredients (except ground beef) in a large mixing bowl:

Pause and take a picture of your baking assistant:

someone's a little camera shy..


Back to business..


Add the ground chuck and mix together. Coat a baking sheet or shallow roasting pan with nonstick spray. Shape meatballs (whatever size you desire, we usually make them on the rather large size). Place the meatballs on the pan so they are not touching or crowded together.

Cover bottom of the pan with beef broth. I like to give them a nice little bath, pouring the broth on top of them all. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the meatballs are just cooked through. Reserve pan juices for sauce.

Make sure you save the juices from the pan and add them to the sauce, it's a must.


Add the meatballs and juices to the sauce and try not to eat them all, as tempting as it may be.


Oh, and our little baking assistant..this is where she ended up half way through..

Clearly she is dreaming of meatballs.

self timer, whaa?

we might have this thing. and that thing might be a self timer shot before we went out. we tried to make it a weekend ritual. most nights it worked. some well, let's say the camera was left in my bag for a reason.

we occasionally switch sides,
strike poses 
but always
we look pretty.

to my princess peaches, i love you. more than words can explain.

i promise the recap of this semester is coming.

plus a sappy love note, just because.

it's not real life that its 12:42 am and my alarm is set for 6:30

or that our apartment resembles a jail cell and it echoes when we screech.

and it's even more not real life that in 12 hours I will be home. for summer. not with you two.

cry all day.

18 straight days of rain.

 Yes. We have really had 18 days of straight rain of some sort. Syracuse, how did you know I love to be a drown rat every. darn. day.

If you haven't noticed, which I can totally understand if you don't due to this lovely, er lack thereof, weather, but summer is SO close. That being said, that means finals are upon us.

Clearly, we've let ourselves go..

I promise our apartment is usually not this disgusting, clearly our priorities have shifted for the time being..

 This poor guy's getting quiet the work out these days..and this cupboards missing its insides..

this is usually over flowing..now the mugs have found a new home..whether it be the sink, the kitchen table, our desks..they are livin' life on the wild side these days, very runaway-esq.


Have no fear, don't lose all hope in us. Obviously we've made time for our favorite activity..


This is how we spent our Saturday night, yes a Saturday night, because after doing this* all day Friday and a little bit of this..

 rockin' cool kicks

 getting a little too excited during kan jam

 breaking fingers

 and being fierce

after a long day filled with activities Saturday night we spent quality time with the kitchen. and mass amounts of chocolate. 

along with the end of the semester comes the need to clean out the cupboards. aka anything that can be dipped in chocolate went for a swim that night.

yum. 


and now we are off to bake some more. for a special someone's birthday. oh procrastination at its finest.