Spaghetti and Meatballs Meal for Mom - and 100% Aldi

So, a couple of days ago my 6 year-old daughter whispers in my ear, "Dad, I've got to tell you something very important!", and pulls me into the kitchen.

"What is it, sweetie?", I say.

"I want to make Mommy a special dinner"

"When do you want to make this special dinner?" I ask.

"Right now" she says.

<gulp>

"Okay", I say, sheepishly, "What do you want to make for her?"

Naturally, at this point, I'm in a total panic since I've not really planned anything for dinner; I didn't take anything out of the freezer to thaw, and I haven't been to Aldi in a few days, so I don't really have much in the way of fresh ingredients on hand. Honestly, I had just planned on making some cold-cut sandwiches and maybe some soup...and now, my daughter wants to make a "SPECIAL" dinner for her mother.  And who am I to deny my 6 year-old?

Then, she says: "Spaghetti and meatballs and green salad".

PHEW! That was a close call, but luckily, I have all that in stock (which is a bit ironic, since we don't really have spaghetti often; maybe once a month at the most. And, my daughter doesn't even like spaghetti anyway.. but whatever.)

I say, "Sure, we can do that!" My daughter runs through the house - "Mommy, Mommy, I have a surprise for you, but I can't tell you what it is!"

So, we both fly into action - daughter keeps Mommy "distracted" by playing video games (a brilliant tactical maneuver on her part), while I start cooking...

I used the Aldi Fit & Active Whole Grain Thin Spaghetti, Grandessa Signature Tomato Basil Spaghetti Sauce, and the Fit & Active Turkey Meatballs.

Fit & Active Whole Grain Thin Spaghetti

Grandessa Tomato Basil Spaghetti Sauce

Fit & Active Fully Cooked Turkey Meatballs

 The Fit & Active Whole Grain Spaghetti cooks up quickly and the whole grain variety gives it more flavor than typical spaghetti. My wife has been after me to switch to whole grain pastas, brown rice, etc, so she was really pleased when Aldi started stocking this. I enjoyed the taste as well - other whole grain pastas I've tried have turned out gummy and not at all appealing to me flavor-wise, so I'm very satisfied with this product. I'll definitely buy it again.

The Grandessa Tomato Basil Sauce is a pretty good jar sauce also - the tomato is chunky, but not overly so. It still has a good saucy texture, and is nicely spiced, but I thought it could use more basil flavor. I easily remedied that by adding a bit more dried basil from the spice rack (also from Aldi).

I absolutely love the Fit & Active Turkey Meatballs - if you didn't know they were made from turkey and not beef and pork, I don't think you'd be able to tell the difference. For this meal, I only had enough time to heat them in the microwave (they're already fully cooked) and they came out with a slightly "spongy" texture. When I've used these before, I've either pan-fried them, or heated them in the oven, and with much better results. I buy these all the time, and wouldn't hesitate to serve them to even my most "critical" guests.

So, Mom's special meal turned out to be a big hit! I did the cooking, daughter did the distracting, and Mom thoroughly enjoyed the treat. We were able to sit down to a good meal as a family, and at a price that was VERY easy on the budget. When my wife asked our daughter why we were having the "special" meal, our daughter replied: "Mommy, you do so many things for me, I just wanted to do something nice for you too..."

And it just doesn't get any better than that.

-Jeff the Aldi Shopper