Meatball Sandwich Casserole

You will need:

1 bag of frozen meatballs (or make your own from scratch)
1 jar of marinara sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup Italian blend cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 loaf of fresh Italian bread, sliced

To prepare:

Preheat oven to 400. Place entire bag of meatballs in pot with sauce (I also add garlic, onion powder, salt and pepper to taste) and cook over medium heat until warmed completely through, about 10 minutes. Stir as needed to keep meatballs from sticking to pot.  When we made these for New Year's Eve I gave this job to my very capable nephew!

Once heated through remove from heat. Place meatballs in the center of a 9x13 baking dish, layer mozzarella and Italian blend cheeses over meatballs topping off with the Parmesan. Take the slices of Italian bread and line the pan all the way around with them so that they are kind of keeping the meatballs toward the center of the pan. The bread slices will be standing up in the pan as shown below. You have creative freedom here with the bread...you can lightly butter and garlic the bread prior to placing it in the pan if you prefer or even brush lightly with olive oil and garlic (this is what I do). 

Place in oven and bake for approximately 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. I forgot to take an "after" picture, but here it was in the oven, baking. 

Soooo good!  Assembly is so fast and easy, this is *almost* a meal in 30 minutes entry.

Loved by all.  I will definitely make again!

Zucchini Pizza Boats

I saw this recipe floating around the internet last week and thought it looked really yummy, so I decided to give it a try.  It did NOT disappoint!  It tasted as good as it looks, unless it doesn't look good to you, and in that case it tasted BETTER!  I wasn't sure everyone in my family would like zucchini as the "crust" of this pizza, but EVERY single person liked it!  Win!  Another winning aspect of this recipe is that prep time is very short and bake time is short.  If you had all the ingredients ready to go, this could be a meal in 30 minutes!

Start by slicing several washed zucchini down the middle length-wise.  Mix one T olive oil with minced garlic and brush over the zucchini.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Then top with marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese (optional).

Layer pepperoni slices on the very top.  I used bigger slices, but you can use smaller ones, too.

Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes, longer if you want crunchier zucchini, and a bit less if you like softer zucchini.

When done cooking, sprinkle oregano on the top, let cool and serve.  YUM!

This was well liked by all and I will definitely make it again.

Meals in 30 Minutes - Chicken Salad Bar

We've already had some really hot weather (100 degrees or close to it) and on those nights I really don't feel like cooking. Sometimes I barely feel like eating! On one such night recently we had a chicken salad bar for dinner. The two bowls near the bottom of this picture contain feta cheese and dried cherries.


This was also super fast because I already had diced, cooked, and seasoned chicken in the freezer that I just pulled out and defrosted in the microwave (I season with Italian seasoning while browning).


I looked through the veggie drawer and cut up what I could find, clockwise from top: tomatoes, carrots, red and green peppers, and strawberries in the middle. We required our children to choose at least two items from the veggie platter. I also had some cantaloupe on another plate.


Son C was very artful with his arranging!


Healthy, fast, delicious, and no cooking required!

Meals in 30 Minutes - Italian Chicken on Noodles

I'm starting a new category of food posts: meals that you can have on the table in 30 minutes or less. And the first post in this category is a recipe I made up! How does that old saying go..."necessity is the mother of invention"? In my case, desperation was the inspiration behind this super easy chicken recipe!


Pour about 2 T olive oil in a skillet and add chicken breasts. As they are browning, sprinkle some Italian seasoning on each piece. Add 2 or 3 cloves of fresh garlic to the pan. After 8-10 minutes, turn over and lightly sprinkle Italian seasoning on the other side of each piece. When breasts are browned on both sides, cover pan and simmer on low until cooked through. Meanwhile, cook noodles of your choice (I used spaghetti). Serve chicken on noodles and enjoy!

Verdict: I have cooked chicken breasts so many times, I really thought this wouldn't be much different. But the blend of Italian seasoning and garlic made it really tasty and the whole family commented on it favorably! Will definitely whip it up again!