Meatballs in a Minute

Meatballs are fun food. Not only do they taste great, they cook quickly and are super-versatile. Meatballs are great to toss into spaghetti sauce, soups, stews, sandwiches or just munch into all on their own. Even better: when you either have some meatballs in the freezer ready-to-use or have a recipe for quick-and-tastes-great meatballs (like this Easy Meatball Recipe that mixes in minutes then bakes in the oven).

Tonight we're having spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. We're going to be trying the Morningstar Farms Meal Starter Veggie Meatballs -- they look delicious and are a fast and easy solution for our half-vegetarian family. Since I don't have any other ready-to-use meatballs in the freezer, I'm going to bake a batch from this Easy Meatball Recipe for the meat lovers.

Not in the mood for spaghetti but would like some ideas for dinner that include meatballs? Here's a few suggestions, whether you'll be going for meat-based or meatless protein:

• add meatballs to this Ramen Noodle Vegetable Soup

• meatball sandwiches: saute some sliced onions and peppers in a small amount of oil, add meatballs and your favorite sauce. Tuck into a roll or on top of toast, top with parmesan or grated cheese

• make a pot of this Italian Wedding Soup Recipe (or Italian Meatball Soup)

• make a pot of minestrone soup, served with meatballs and parmesan on top

• serve meatballs alongside this Quick Ravioli Recipe: Greek-style with Spinach & Feta

• serve this Fast Greek Linguine topped with meatballs