Real Mom Confession - Homemade Spaghetti-o's

I'll be the first to admit it... part of me would rather buy a can of Spaghetti-o's over making them. It's fast and it's easy. There is something so comforting about sitting down with a mug full of ready made (probably fake) pasta when you are feeling down. Spaghetti-o's bring me back to my childhood. They remind me of being at home and not having any worries. Those were the days, weren't they?

My daughter loves spaghetti-o's. It must be something in her genes. And as a mom, they are an easy lunch option when you are super busy and have to feed your child fast and without complaints.

Sounds like a great option right? Take a look at the nutrition info and you will run for the hills faster then if you were being chased by zombies! We have recently made the change to eating healthier and being healthier. While doing a complete sweep of our pantry we discovered that Spaghetti-o's would not make the cut, much to the dismay of LT and myself. She kept asking for them and asking for them and asking for them... you get the picture right?

So, I had to find a way to make these myself, make them healthy and make them shelf stable. It sounded like a daunting task.

Pressure canning was the only option for preserving because of the meat and tomatoes. But what about the pasta? How do you can pasta without it turning into mush? I was at a loss for how to make the pasta element work. I didn't even care if it didn't look like Spaghetti-o's, as long as they tasted right.

But I bought a pressure canner anyway and got to work making meatballs and the sauce. Then it came to me (my husband actually suggested it after a Google search came up empty), add the pasta to the hot sauce and cooked meat, RAW. Uncooked pasta noodles should cook during the pressure canning, right? I hoped so.

5 hours, lots of pressure, and about a million times hearing, "Are they ready yet," we had spaghetti-o's. But would they taste okay? I had my doubts...

Seriously, I didn't think these would pass the kid test

But after letting them cool enough to eat, I popped a jar open and gave them to LT for a taste test. Want to know her answer to the question, What do they taste like?

"Like Spaghetti-o's, Mom"

AWESOME!!! WAY TO GO!!! YOU ROCK!!! Okay, maybe that's just what I yelled inside my head, but it was well deserved praise.

Here's a more adult critique: In my very educated opinion, they were good, although over saucy, over spiced and the pasta did end up a bit mushy. But they would serve their purpose. They made LT happy and the good news is, there is room for improvement which means another excuse for me to spend hours in the kitchen.

LT prefers the Meatball Variety

If you would like the recipe, please let me know. I'd be happy to either post it or email it.

Happy Tuesday!

Mac