Little Philip: Hey, Mom! What’s this?
Mom: Spaghetti
LP: In a box? How much is in here?
M: A pound
LP: How much does a pound weigh?
M: Eyeroll
LP: Is that how much hamburger and sauce we have too?
M: Yes, a pound of each
LP: (Quick math.) So… seconds tonight!
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As a kid, I lived for spaghetti night. Not only did that mean a second helping, but it also meant leftovers the next day. Leftovers where you added a small amount of water to the container before microwaving to keep the noodles from drying out.
There are three ways to upgrade a simple spaghetti meal. The first is shaker Parmesan cheese that comes in the round green container. You usually need to bang it on the table to loosen it up before piling it on the pasta.
The next upgrade requires a little bit more time and labor. Garlic bread. Specifically the over-buttered Texas toast slices that come frozen in the yellow box. Because why wouldn’t one want to place their tomato-ey tangy carbs on top of garlicky buttery carbs?
And the final, ultimate upgrade? You combine the same cheese, breadcrumbs, ground beef, and other ingredients to make meatballs. Meatballs can come in all different sizes, small enough to eat in one bite or large enough to throw Sammy Sosa out at third from right field.
I’ve had all types of spaghetti—from canned Spaghetti-O’s in a drafty two-bedroom house to spaghetti and meat sauce in a single-wide trailer in a trailer park to spaghetti and seafood in Florence, Italy. My favorite by far is the spaghetti and meatballs that Matty makes, and specifically the first weekend she made a ginormous batch at my apartment.
Elle: What’s for dinner tonight?
Philip: Spaghetti and Meatballs
E: There’s a lot here!
P: Yeah, a whole week’s worth, it was just made this weekend.
E: These meatballs are the size of softballs!
P: Make sure you put a little water in it before microwaving.
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