Spaghetti & Meatball “Stoup”

Living in Massachusetts requires a person to make certain… “sacrifices”: the beaches are rocky, the sports fans are crazy, and, yes, the winters are long. A friend of mine from high school had given me a recipe for Spaghetti & Meatball “Stoup” (“thicker than soup, thinner than stew”) that quickly became one of my favorite go-to meals when it was 0 degrees outside (and even when it wasn’t).

The below was adapted from the original Rachael Ray recipe because we’re a picky family and, in an effort to save every shred of free time I may have, I also removed all ingredients that I deemed unessential to the overall final taste. Feel free to compare and decide for yourself, though!

SPAGHETTI & MEATBALL STOUP INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 cups tomato sauce
  • 3 cups chicken broth (I use water to reduce salt)
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
  • 1 egg, beaten (I’ve replaced this w/ milk)
  • 1 lb spaghetti, broken in half

SPAGHETTI & MEATBALL STOUP INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Combine tomato sauce and broth into large pasta pot (the wider the better); cover and bring to a boil over high heat.
  2. Separately combine meat, cheese, breadcrumbs and egg so they form meatballs (size doesn’t really matter).
  3. Once the liquids are boiling, slide in your meatballs and bring it back to a boil (usually around a minute).
  4. Add the pasta and reduce heat to a simmer, keeping the lid on.
  5. Stir every 5 minutes to thoroughly cook the pasta within the sauce/meatball combo. It usually takes about 10 minutes if you’re using thin spaghetti or up to about 20 minutes if you chose fettuccine (our preference).
  6. Optional: when it starts looking like you’re almost finished, take the lid off so the sauce thickens even further. 
Just try to keep an eye on it towards the very end because it does have a tendency to stick if you don’t stir it. But even burned stoup tastes a lot better (in my opinion) than most other dishes out there…!