Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

Recipe adapted from: Picky Palate

I know there’s no sauce on my meatball sub, but I don’t like red sauce that much…
And one other thing about this recipe —  I HATE mustard!  I really do.  Can’t stand the stuff.  So why I included it I don’t know.  I’m going to try these again sometime without the mustard and kicking up the seasonings a bit, but I really love the idea of mozzarella stuffed meatballs.

I didn’t have any of those fancy mozzarella balls, so I just cut up some cheese sticks and made them work  🙂

Makes 10 HUGE meatballs!

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp EVOO
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp yellow mustard (yuck!)
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic salt
• 10 1-inch Mozzarella balls (or cut up cheese sticks if you want to be like me lol)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease a 13×9 inch baking dish with the olive oil.
3. Combine all of the ingredients (except the mozzarella cheese) in a large bowl.
4. Take 1/4 cup of the beef mixture and press into the center to make room for the Mozzarella.  Place cheese in the middle and then enclose the beef around the cheese making sure it is completely covered.
5. Place meatballs in the prepared dish and bake for about 35 minutes or until cooked through.
6. Serve over pasta or in a meatball sub.

That’s the way I like it —- with lots of Parmesan on top!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Recipe adapted from: Allrecipes.com

LOVED THIS!  No, really, I loved this one!  And the next day, reheated, it was just as good.  Mmmmm.
It isn’t the easiest, quickest casserole out there, but for me it was worth the effort.

Make a little egg/milk bath

Soak your chicken and get our the bread crumbs

 

I used panko

Fry the chicken pieces (Don't they kinda look like the chicken nuggets at Chick-Fil-A?)

Chicken + Ham + Cheese

Add the soup mixture

Bake it up

Serve over egg noodles

 Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup plan panko bread crumbs
• 1 cup oil (for frying)
• 8 ounces shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 8 ounces fully-cooked ham, cubed
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 bag of egg noodles

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat egg and 1/2 cup milk together until combined.  Put the breadcrumbs in another bowl.  Set aside.
3. Cut your chicken into chunks, placing the pieces in the egg mixture to coat.
4. Using tongs, transfer the coated chicken into the breadcrumbs, pressing down a little bit to coat.
5. Heat oil in a large skillet to 375 degrees F.  Carefully fry breaded chicken cubes in hot oil until golden brown on all sides, then remove and drain on paper towels.
6. Place chicken cubes in a glass baking dish.  Add the ham and the cheese and gently stir to combine.
7. In a small bowl, combine the soup and 1 cup milk.  No need to heat it, just pour directly over the casserole.
8. Baked for about 30 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.
9. Meanwhile, prepare egg noodles according to package directions.  Once cooked, I stir in a little butter to prevent sticking and give them some buttery flavor goodness.
10. Serve warm.

Cheesy Garlic Breadsticks

Recipe adapted from: Boboli

These were so yummy that Shane actually asked me to wrap the leftovers up so he could take them to work… and he isn’t huge on leftovers.  I knew they’d be easy because I read the recipe, but it always surprises me when things are *that* easy.  Although — cheating by using the pre-minced garlic helped some!  I discovered this wonderful section of the produce department where everything is done.  Chopped, diced, minced… whatever your recipe calls for, they’ve done the work for me.  🙂  You may not get the satisfaction of preparing the meal from scratch, but some days there just isn’t enough time!

And hello??!? Only three ingredients???  Three ingredients and you’ve got yourself a quick snack!

Garlic -> Cheese

Then just bake it up

I only had 1 cup of Mozzarella, so I had to use 1 cup of Colby Jack as well.  I’m in love with mozzarella, but the CJ wasn’t bad either.

And of course I had to cut it like they do at Papa John’s

Ingredients:

• 1 Boboli pizza crust
• 2 cloves garlic, minced.
• 2 cups shredded cheese (Mozzarella)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven according to package directions.
2. Bake crust on a pizza pan for 5 minutes.  Remove from oven.
3. Sprinkle garlic over crust and top with cheese, leaving a 1″ border around the edge.
4. Return to oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Notes:

• Depends on which size pizza crust you get, but just put the toppings on according to your personal taste.  It’s probably pretty hard to mess this one up.

Potato and Ham Soup

Recipe from:  Allrecipes

Even though I messed this one up, I know that (if made correctly) it would be delicious — and I can’t wait to try again!  Quadrupling the salt is a big mistake, and I wouldn’t recommend it lol  But besides the ridiculously salty-ness, it was still good.

Get your garbage bowl ready and peel those potatoes!

Dice them up

Cook the potatoes with some ham, onions, and celery

Everything good has lots of butter...

Mmmm butter

Butter + Flour + Milk

Add them together

And you've got soup!

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups peeled/diced potatoes (about 4-5 medium potatoes)
• 1/3 cup diced celery
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 3/4 cup diced cooked ham
• 3 1/4 cups water
• 2 tbsp chicken bouillon granules
• 1/2 tsp salt (or less?)
• 1 tsp pepper
• 5 tbsp butter
• 5 tbsp AP flour
• 2 cups milk

Directions:

1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to medium heat and cook for about 10-15 minutes, until potatoes are tender.  Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt, and pepper.
2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat.  Whisk in flour with a fork and stir constantly for about 1 minute until thick.  Slowly stir in milk (don’t allow lumps to form).  Continue stirring over medium-low heat for 4-5 more minutes until thickened.
3. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot and cook soup until heated through.  Serve immediately.

Cheddar Fondue

Recipe from: Taste of Home

I loved this!  Can’t go wrong with cheese, in my humble opinion at least…
Make this one on the stove top and transfer to a fondue pot, slow cooker, or just serve immediately in a bowl.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup AP flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground mustard
• 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 cups skim milk
• 8 ounces (2 cups) shredded cheddar cheese
• Serve with cubes of bread or veggies.

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan.  Add in flour, salt, pepper, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce.  Stir until smooth.
2. Gradually add milk and bring to a boil.  Cook, while stirring, for about 2 minutes or until it is thickened.  Reduce heat.
3. Add the cheese and stir until melted.
4. Serve immediately or keep warm as mentioned above.

Notes:

• I added a bit more salt at the end to taste.