linguine with meatballs, mushrooms, and creamy onion sauce (dreamfields giveaway!)
Casual Entertaining. Sounds perfect, right?
I’m a huge fan of anything that says CASUAL. Casual makes me think: easy, simple, stress-free, basically anything I could do in sweatpants. And when you put it together with entertaining? Well, that’s right up my alley. So, when I was challenged by Dreamfields to create a recipe using their Linguine (my FAVORITE pasta) with a Casual Entertaining theme, my mind started working overtime.
At our house, any entertaining tends to center around family visiting or football watching. Sometimes both, at the same time. And honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Is there a way to make a filling, healthy pasta that could work for a family dinner or football watching? I think so!
The answer? Add meatballs.
Meatballs are a football-snacking staple, along with chicken wings, chips and dip, and nachos. They’re easy to throw on a platter by themselves, but it’s just as easy to toss them with some meaty mushrooms, a creamy onion sauce, and piles of hot linguine.
And there you go! Something for everyone – a super savory dish, easy to toss together, and filling.
Dreamfields Pasta
All month long Dreamfields and bloggers will be working together to bring you 31 days of amazing pasta recipes. Each day of each week you’ll find a new recipe using a different cut of Dreamfields pasta and a different theme for each week. This week it’s Casual Entertaining, but we’ve also got Vegetarian, Table for Two, and Stovetop Saviors coming up! I hope you’ll join us in this Pasta Extravaganza!
- October 1-7: Casual Entertaining
- October 8 -14: Vegetarian Entrees
- October 15 – 21: Table for Two
- October 22 – 31: Stovetop Saviors/Quick and Easy recipes
Did you know that a one-cup cooked serving of Dreamfields pasta (2 oz. dry) provides 5 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein? Protein is good – and honestly, the texture of Dreamfields pasta is one of the best I’ve ever had. I’ll be eating this pasta for years to come!
Want to learn more? Visit www.DreamfieldsFoods.com to learn more about the brand and keep up to date with all that’s happening there.
The Giveaway
Have you tried Dreamfields? I think you’ll love Dreamfields, too, so, thanks to my friends there, I’m giving away a Dreamfields family pack (that’s a bunch of pasta!) and a $25 gift card to one randomly-selected winner. All you have to do is leave me a comment here letting me know you’d like to win.
Want anther chance to win? Pick out your favorite Dreamfields recipe on their site using Linguine, then return here and let me know which one. There are so many great recipes to choose from!
If you’d like more chances to win, just “like” or “follow” Dreamfields on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest for an increased chance to win. Be sure to leave me a separate comment for each one you do. Separate. Comment.
Also, make sure to follow along on Twitter each day (and the special hashtag #IHeartDreamfields) to keep up with the featured blogger recipe of the day because that means eveb MORE chances for you to win!
Good luck!
Disclaimer: This post sponsored by Dreamfields. Recipe, all thoughts, and opinions are my own. Giveaway is sponsored by and shipped by Dreamfields. Contest open until October 31, 11:59pm EST to US Addresses Only.Winner will be notified by email provided in comments.
linguine with meatballs, mushrooms, and creamy onion sauce
This linguine is the perfect dish for an easy weeknight dinner with the family or a casual get together with friends on a weekend. You can easily double the recipe to make more servings if needed, and it makes fantastic leftovers! I know for me, keeping the stress low when I have people over is key - a dish like this is the perfect thing to have on hand.
Ingredients:
Meatballs:
- 1 pound lean ground beef (85% lean)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon parsley flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Pasta and Sauce:
- 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 box Dreamfields Linguine
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Directions:
1. Place a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Mix the ground beef with the garlic powder, onion powder, parsley flakes, salt and pepper.
Roll the beef mixture into 1-inch round meatballs.
3. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet. Place the meatballs in the skillet (cook in two
batches if they won't all fit) and cook the meatballs completely, turning to brown on each side
every 3-4 minutes. Once the meatballs are cooked through, remove them from the pan and set
aside.
4. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and add mushrooms. Let them cook on one side for
3-5 minutes, until nicely browned, then turn over and cook another 3-4 minutes. When all the
mushrooms are browned, remove them from the pan.
5. Toss the diced onion into the skillet. Cook the onion for 4-5 minutes, until it's beginning to
soften, stirring frequently. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the onion and cook
for another minute. Add flour; cook and stir for another minute, until all the flour is incorporated
into the onion and olive oil.
6. Stir the milk into the onion mixture. Cook and stir for 3-5 minutes until the milk is starting to
bubble. Lower the heat, just a little (so it doesn't burn or stick to the bottom of the skillet) and let
the sauce thicken for another 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the salt and pepper.
7. While the sauce is thickening, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the linguine to the pot,
with a palmful of salt. Cook the pasta 7-9 minutes, until al dente. Remove the pot from heat and
drain the pasta.
8. To serve, plate the pasta on a large platter. Top with the meatballs and mushrooms. Drizzle the
sauce over the pasta and top with chopped fresh parsley.
Nutrition information (1/6 of recipe): 490 calories; 26 g protein; 57 g total carbohydrates; 20 g total fat; 5 g saturated fat; 50 mg cholesterol; 880 mg sodium; 7 g total dietary fiber.