Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

Spaghetti and meatballs is something that everyone in my house can always agree on and since the meatloaf from the other night was such a hit with everyone I decided to try a meatball variation with the Stove Top Stuffing crumbs.  The kids were a surprised when they cut into their meatballs and found their favorite food- CHEESE!  This recipe is going straight to the top of my "Kid Friendly" recipe list!  The stringy gooey cheese is sure to make anyone say YUM!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Ground Beef
• Mozzarella Cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon Basil
• 1 Egg
• 1 Tablespoon Milk
• 1 teaspoon Minced Garlic
• 1 Tablespoon Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon Oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon Pepper
• 1/3 Cup Stove Top Stuffing Crumbs (place dry Stove top in food processor and pulse a few times)

Makes 12 meatballs 

Grab enough meat to make a meatball and gently flatten it in your hand.  Place a piece of mozzarella inside and then for the meat into a ball.

Place on cookie sheet and bake for about 12 minutes at 375 degrees.

 I made mine the day before I needed them and put them in the fridge.  When ready I heated the meatballs in the pan of spaghetti sauce for about 15 minutes.  Then served sauce and meatballs over pasta.

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Chicken Parmesan- One for tonight & One for the Freezer

If I can cook once and eat twice or even three times I am a happy girl.  This is one of the first recipes that I started freezing. (Don't worry I will be sharing more!)  And many years later I am still making it.  It's awesome to have a meal that tastes so good in only the amount of time it takes to cook the spaghetti.  

Ingredients:

• Parmesan Cheese
• Shredded Mozzarella
• Shredded Parmesan
• Boneless Chicken Breasts
• Garlic Powder
• Seasoned Bread Crumbs
• Eggs
• Milk
• Olive Oil
• Marinara Sauce
• Spaghetti

I am sorry, I forgot to measure while I was making this.  The amount of each varies depending on the amount of chicken you are making.  

Combine bread crumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, and garlic powder.

Cut large chicken breasts in half.  Place in between sheets of wax paper and pound them to about 1/2 inch thick.

Beat a couple of eggs (you can add a splash of milk if you would like).  Dip chicken in egg.

Dredge chicken in bread crumb mixture until completely covered

Heat olive oil in skillet.  Lightly fry chicken on each side.  It doesn't have to be cooked all the way through because it will finish cooking in the oven.  

When the chicken is done place the portions you are going to eat tonight in a baking dish and the others on a plate to cool.

After the pieces for the freezer are cool place them in a freezer bag, label, and place in freezer.  

Back to the portion for tonight...Preheat oven to 350.  To finish cooking bake chicken for about 10-15 minutes.  Take chicken out of oven and sprinkle a little grated Parmesan on each piece of chicken, put a small layer of sauce, then a little bit of shredded Mozzarella and shredded Parmesan.  Place chicken in oven for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Serve over spaghetti with your favorite marinara sauce.

 When you are ready to eat the portion from the freezer, simply thaw chicken in refrigerator and follow the directions above.

This recipe was featured on our Appetizing April Menu. Check out the entire April menu for a variety of dinner ideas!

Creamy Mushroom Angel Pasta

Pasta, chicken, wine, and mushrooms- How can you go wrong?  This is a very simple dinner that tastes like you put way more effort into it than you did.  My father-in-law often suggests that we have angel hair pasta for dinner, but the rest of us favor spaghetti or rigatoni.  This is one dish that we can all agree upon.  Something about the wine and the mushrooms in the sauce make for a delicious combination.  Great now my tummy is grumbling... good thing I have a little left over!

Ingredients:

• 3 Boneless Chicken Breasts (cut in half)
• 1 Package of Dry Italian Dressing Mix
• 1/2 Cup of White Wine ( I used a Reisling because that is what I had open already)
• 1 Can of Golden Mushroom Soup
• 1 lb box of Angel Hair Pasta (or other pasta)
• 1/4 cup of Butter
• 4 oz of Chive and Onion Cream Cheese
• Two handfulls of sliced Mushrooms (this is my favorite part so I could easily double this)

**I had the spinach in the picture because I was serving with a spinach salad, but you could throw some in and it would be good too!

Makes 6 servings

In a saucepan, over low heat melt butter.  When butter is melted stir in the contents of the dressing mix packet.  Then stir in wine and golden mushroom soup until smooth.

Add in cream cheese.  If you add the cream cheese in pieces they will melt faster.  Make sure they melt, but do NOT boil mixture.  Stir in mushrooms.  Preheat oven to 325.  Place chicken breasts in baking dish.  Pour the sauce over the chicken.  The sauce will be thick, but will thin as the chicken cooks.

Bake chicken for about 50-60 minutes.  About 20 minutes before chicken is done begin the water for the pasta.  Serve pasta with sauce and chicken.

This recipe was featured on our Appetizing April Menu. Check out the entire April menu for a variety of dinner ideas!

Lazy Lasagna

I call this one Lazy Lasagna because a little bit of work goes a long way.  I make this dish 2 or 3 meals at a time, use one, and freeze one to use a few weeks or a month later.  The hardest part about making this is boiling the noodles because it takes the longest. Other than that you can just throw it all together.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of ground beef
• 1 cup + 1/4 cup of shredded Mozzarella
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesean
• 2 teaspoons of Minced Garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon Basil
• 1/2 teaspoon Oregano
• About 24 oz Marinara Sauce (I make my own I will share recipe some day)
• 1 Box of (boil) Lasagna Noodles
• 1 15 ounce containter of Ricotta
• 1/4 teaspoon of Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 egg
• Salt and Pepper

Start large pot of water to boil and cook lasagna noodles as directed on package. Combine Ricotta, Mozzarella, Parmesan, and lightly beaten egg.  I usually salt and pepper the cheese mixture a little bit.  Set aside.

Brown ground beef with the minced garlic, oregano, and basil.  When cooked thoroughly drain the grease off.

When pasta is finished cooking, remove it from water and lay out on lightly greased (to prevent pasta from sticking) cookie sheet.  Spread a layer of the cheese mixture on the length of the noodle, sprinkle with ground beef, and put a thin layer of sauce on top.  

Roll up noodle and arrange in baking dish.

If you are eating today, top with additional marinara sauce and cheese.  Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.
If you are freezing, place roll ups in freezer safe dish and cover (I usually freeze in an 8x8 pyrex dish, cover with foil, and place lid on top) or freeze on cookie sheet and put into freezer bag for individual portions.  Thaw baking dish in refrigerator over night, top with additional sauce and cheese and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes (since it is cold from fridge it may take longer).

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness and our Appetizing April Menu.  Check out the menus and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!

Sausage and Pepper Pasta

Unlike Sherrie's family, we LOVE pasta and could eat it multiple times in one week. We have several great recipes that we make often, but this one spices it up a little bit.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of Penne or Rigatoni Pasta
• 4 Pieces of Italian Sausage (either mild or hot)
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• half of a green pepper- chopped
• 32 oz of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I make my own. Maybe someday I will share the secret:)

First, I cook the sausage along with a little bit of water in a skillet over high heat.

After the sausage is cooked thoroughly, I remove the sausage and dump the grease. Then I put the green peppers in and cook them until tender.

While the peppers are cooking, start the water for the pasta, and slice the sausage into bite size pieces.

When the peppers are finished add them and the sausage to the sauce and heat through.

When pasta is cooked, mix with sauce, and pour into 9X13 baking dish top with Parmesan cheese and bake in oven for about 7 minutes. We serve ours with a salad and garlic bread. I always top mine with a little extra Parmesan and a shake of red pepper flakes for an extra kick! My family likes this dish because we can make it as spicy as we like and the adults and kiddos are both happy:)

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness and our Appetizing April Menu.  Check out the menus and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!