I am all for easy weeknight dinners.  There are always those weeknights where I work late and I tend to feel very guilty for ordering in when I have a fridge full of groceries, which is why I have a repertoire of easy breezy dinner options.  One of these tasty options happens to be Gluten-Free Spaghetti and Veggie Meatballs!  Yummy!

Just for funzies, we have been experimenting with different pastas lately, and quinoa pasta is now my favorite alternative to wheat pasta (which I still love and will probably eat forever).  Feel free to use any pasta you like.  Also, I make a no-hassle tomato sauce.  All I do is saute a little garlic, add a can or two of tomato sauce, and season with salt, pepper, cayenne and of course add a handful of oregano and basil.  Beats anything you can get out of a jar. You can actually stop here and enjoy a 15 minute dinner.  If you want to be a diva about it, then continue onto the meatballs.

The veggie meatballs are not as complicated as they sound.  I promise.

While the pasta is doing its thing, I saute some onion, garlic, mushrooms, carrots, and celery.  You can use as many or as few veggies as you want.  There is a lot of personalization with veggie meatballs.  Once the veggies have softened a bit, go ahead and toss those goodies into a food processor with some breadcrumbs, walnuts (or any nuts, totes optional) with any spices and herbs you prefer – I typically go with red pepper, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano and basil, and a little tomato paste, Parmesan cheese and egg to bind it all up.  Once its all combined put it into a big bowl.  At this point, I like to add lentils and Trader Joe’s carries pre-cooked ones which are huge time saver.  If you aren’t big on lentils, then don’t bother adding them.  Also, it’s kinda recommended to put the bowl into the fridge to let it firm up before baking and I found that if you don’t have time to wait for this step, it’s no biggie.  Just form little golf ball-sized balls and roast them on a lightly greased (with olive oil) baking sheet in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20-30 minutes.  That’s all there is to it!