TGIF everyone!

One thing that compares to being a favorite of mine, next to jewelry is FOOD! 

Now one of my favorite foods is spaghetti.  I think the closest colors to compare with spaghetti as far as a gemstone would be garnets.  That is because the garnets come in all shades except blue.  Garnet is a Latin word meaning Pomegranate, which is a Plant with Bright, Red Seeds! Looking at the seeds make it pretty obvious how Garnet got its name.  Garnet is a pretty durable Gem, 7.5 on the MOHS scale of hardness, which means you can wear it all of the time with little fear of chipping or breaking the stone.  Garnet is a very good stone for wearing every day.  

They can change hues just like the Alexandrite Gemstone does. Garnets can change from shades of Blue/Green in daylight, to reddish colors in incandescent light. This is a fascinating thing about the garnet most people do not know is that some Garnets have the ability to Color-Change!

Here are some of our garnets in our store.  Also, go to our website at www.jskjewelrs.com to see more.  Our BLOG is also posting click on the link on our website to go there.  Have a “GEM” of a day!

Here is one of Lisa’s favorite recipes of spaghetti.

Meatball Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup water (more or less)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 medium onion
• garlic
• salt
• pepper

Mix all ingredients together. Don't add all of the water at one time. Mixture should be moist but not so that the meatballs fall apart.

Shape meatballs to desired size and place on a broiler pan (I wet my hands before shaping each meatball and it helps make a nice meatball.) Broil until outside is slightly brown on one side and then turn and broil the other side. When finished, add to spaghetti sauce and simmer at least 20 minutes.

Cook angel hair pasta according to package directions; drain.
Serve angel hair pasta topped with meatballs in sauce; sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

You can also use wheat angel hair pasta instead of flour angel hair pasta, if you want more fiber in your diet.

You can have a bigger ratio of mushrooms as opposed to the meat if you are watching fat intake.

The sauce ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 green bell peppers, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 15 fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 5 tablespoons Italian seasoning
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound spaghetti

Directions

1. In a large skillet, brown beef over medium heat until no longer pink; cut up any remaining chunks of beef and reserve.
2. In a large saucepan, combine whole tomatoes and paste; mash until smooth. Cover and heat on low.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat, quickly sear onion and celery until transparent; add to tomato sauce in saucepan. In same skillet, sauté bell peppers and mushrooms for a few minutes, but do not allow them to become soft; add to tomato sauce.
4. Add Italian seasoning, dried red pepper flakes, bay leaves, basil and garlic to tomato sauce; add beef and mix. Remove cover, simmer over low heat and add the meatballs and continue to simmer all day, stirring occasionally try to not break the meatballs.
5. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente; drain.
6. Add sauce and meatballs to pasta; serve.