Meatball Sub Casserole

Daylight Savings Time is still getting the best of me and I find myself scrambling to finish all of my new-found chores to do in sunshine and get dinner on the table before 8:00. So, I've been looking for quick, easy-to-make dishes and tonight I made a real winner.

I was inspired by a pin on Pinterest for a meatball sub casserole but when I was making our grocery list, the pin didn't work and was probably some type of Trojan computer virus crap. So, long story short, I found a Taste of Home recipe and adapted it to the contents of our fridge and the week's menu.

I'm a real sucker for casseroles, but this one was wonderful! My food photography skills are limited at best, but I couldn't even get a good picture before we devoured he whole thing! J said that I will just have to make it again soon "just for pictures."

The flavors were wonderful and blended together perfectly. J works at a successful local deli and sandwich shop, so he knows his sandwiches and was skeptical of some of the components of the casserole but it worked beautifully. The bread we used was soft and delicate, so the cream cheese spread on it added a great richness that would've been lacking with just the basic meatball sub ingredients. I added sauteed onions and they brought a crisp bite to the softer ingredients and the good sear on the meatballs added another crispy quality, too. 

I can't say enough good thing about this recipe. 

It's a great "double duty" recipe, which I love. For example, I try to plan as many meals off of the same ingredient list as possible. We had subs and chips for dinner last night and saved the unused half loaf of French bread for tonight's dinner. It also doesn't require a lot of sauce, so we were able to use leftover sauce that I'd kept in a mason jar from our last spaghetti night. This is a great budget-friendly way to get the most bang from your buck - especially if you're only needing to cook for two. This dish makes three servings, you can multiply it as needed to feed a crowd - I think this a perfect dish for a potluck, taking to a sick friend, or making for a large dinner party. 

This is a really customizable recipe, too, and you can change it to suit your family's tastes and your timeline. I added garlic to the cream cheese spread and sauteed onions. I think sauteed mushrooms would be a great addition and if you're wanting to really appeal to kids' cliche notions of Italian food, you could add a layer of pepperoni. To save time, I used frozen (it is National Frozen Food Month, after all), pre-made meatballs (less than $5 for 60+ meatballs) that I cooked in the oven according to package directions but you can certainly make your favorite homemade recipe. I'm including ToH's recipe for meatballs but I know that when I make it again, I will probably use my own meatball recipe. 

And speaking of a time-saving, this is a great recipe where you can make all of the components ahead of time and assemble and reheat quickly before dinner. You can cook your meatballs and mix with the sauce ingredients, prepare the cream cheese spread and slice your bread. That will make for simple mise en place! 

And is a great recipe for kids - make sure they're either dealing with pre-made meatballs or know not to touch their mouth (or anything else) while handling raw meat. 

I promise I'll make it again soon -- just to get you some good photos!

Meatball Sub Casserole

Ingredients:

Meatball Ingredients- it not using 20 pre-made, frozen meatballs:

2 T chopped green onion
1 T seasoned bread crumbs
1 T grated Parmesan
1/3 lb lean ground beef

6 slices French bread baguette, sliced 1/2" thick
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 T mayonnaise
1/4 t Italian seasoning
2 cloves minced garlic, divided
dash pepper
2/3 c shredded mozzarella cheese, divided*
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 c spaghetti sauce (I used Hunts' original sauce)
1/4 c water


Method:

Preheat oven to 400. Mix meatball ingredients together by hand in a medium bowl. Roll small meatballs - will make over twelve 1" meatballs. Bake on a shallow baking pan for 8-10 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Drain on a paper towel.

Arrange bread in a single layer in an ungreased 8x8" baking dish. Combine the cream cheese, mayo, Italian seasoning, pepper and half of the minced garlic. Spread over bread.  Sprinkle with half of the two cheeses.

In a bowl combine the spaghetti sauce (if you have enough, use only 1 1/4 c spaghetti sauce, or add 1/4 c water to 1 c sauce), and garlic; add meatballs. Pour over bread and evenly distribute the meatballs. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 20-25 minutes until heated through.

*Feel free to add more cheese! I love the extra gooeyness!

Super Bowl 48 Snack-o-rama

I can remember watching the Super Bowl with my parents - dad, mostly - and betting 25 cents since I was five years old. I was only be interested in my bet and the Oscar Meyer weinermobile commercials, but in addition to the commercials and coins, I now almost understand the game, can appreciate the adorableness of the Manning brothers and most importantly, enjoy and prepare delicious game day food with my family.

Tonight, we had a super flavorful spread with old favorites and new, luxurious recipes. As usual, our minds and eyes were bigger than our bellies and we didn't even bother to complete the full menu after the first quarter but it was all delicious.

Jordan and I each contributed a slider. Jordan made his Mamaw's meatballs and sandwiched them on garlic butter toasted sweet Kings Hawaiian rolls with colby cheese squares. These meatballs - which are made with a top-secret recipe that has not yet been declassified for the blog - are hearty but with a sweet, onion sauce.Unlike a traditional meatball sub made with marinara, these sliders are sweet and tender that just make you wanting more. He used to make these into giant, entree-sized meatballs that we'd eat with sides like mashed potatoes or carrots. But we've found they make the perfect sandwich and are incredibly freezer-friendly.

I love wings and in recent months have had an insatiable hunger for bleu cheese and my buffalo'd chicken panini was a great take on the bar classic of wings and dressing. This was a quick dish that would be great for any game day or weeknight dinner and could be made with leftover chicken (a single $5 rotisserie chicken can provide a number of meal options if you plan your week carefully). Also, you can take this dish to several levels of diy. Originally, I would buy a refrigerated bread dough (like Pillsbury's French crusty loaf), cut it into eight chunks and roll them into flat rectangles, I would then grill them on my Cuisinart grill/griddle which results in a great, crusty, crunchy panini. However, to save time and to tone down the spiciness of the buffalo sauce, I opted for Kings Hawaiian mini sub rolls. This sandwich brings the best flavors of buffalo wings but it a whole lot less messy - and you don't have to eat a dozen to be satisfied. Recipe below!

Dad made crowd pleasing mini pigs in a blanket - no Southern party is complete without lil' smokies or crescent dough - and improvised turkey and Italian cheese pinwheels (more crescent dough); a delicious layered salad - another timeless Southern potluck dish (recipe below)- and for a healthy respite, some crudite and a creamy riff on guacamole. 

He also surprised us with a decadent lobster mac 'n' cheese. We're all mac lovers and none of us frequently eats lobster (we are six to nine hours from an ocean) so this was a real treat. Dad said it best, by saying "it's no longer macaroni and cheese." It was undeniably delicious but didn't resemble the childhood favorite, but was do deeply infused with crustacean it had become a new dish entirely. We've enjoyed it and checked it off of our food bucket lists. 

Lobstah Mac in the small dish; Mom demanded her own crustacean-free dish, too

And Jordan finished off our smorgasbord with his super easy and even more delicious dessert that I simply call " Oreo fluff." Fluff is a layered whipped cream and chocolate wafer cookie dessert with only 3-4 ingredients but tastes as good as any homemade cake or pie. This is a great dish to have your kids help with, to make in bulk for potlucks or in ramekins for individual servings. Every time we take it to church, our fellow parishioners all but lick the bowl! Recipe below!

Maybe next year we'll try the Mario Batali strategy - making two themed dishes per team and alternating them during each quarter, then he serves a dessert he prepared based upon his guess of which team would win. This spaces out the snacks and adds a little more order to the food fest - but then again, it's not a Super Bowl party without copious quantities of classic "unaffiliated" tailgating food. Whatever the plan - we'll report to you here at Endlessly Delicious Life.

Preliminary conclusion (11:34 left in the 4th quarter): Check out the trio of recipes below - and I promise that they're more dynamic than tonight's game. Well, actually, they are runaway successes too. Obviously, I put my quarter on Seattle.

Buffalo'd Chicken Panini

Ingredients: 

2 c cooked shredded chicken (I boiled mine in salted water for 45 minutes)
1/2 c mild to medium buffalo sauce (add melted butter as needed to tone down, I added around 2 T)
4 buns or rolls (or grilled dough method from above)
1/4 small red onion, sliced
1/3 c bleu cheese crumbles

Method:

Heat buffalo sauce (and butter, if added) on low until hot. Stir in chicken, heat until hot.

Spoon chicken mixture onto buns, layer red onions and sprinkle with cheese.

Press on a hot grill until heated through and cheese is melted. Serve with extra ranch or bleu cheese dressing if desired.

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"Seven" Layer Salad - (technically, the toppings - cheeses/bacon - count as one item)

Ingredients*: *in "layer" quantities - they depend upon your bowl size

shredded iceberg lettuce
peeled, sliced cucumber
thinly sliced sweet onion (ex: Vidalia)
chopped boiled ham (or ham lunchmeat)
frozen baby peas
mayonnaise
grated Parmesan cheese
crumbled bacon
shredded cheddar cheese

Method:

Simple - layer the items (lettuce first) in your dish. Use a clear, deep bowl for a beautiful presentation.

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Oreo Fluff

Ingredients:

1 - 1 1/2 packs of chocolate wafer cookies (you can use double stuff, vanilla or chocolate cream), crumbled
32 oz. whipped cream, thawed
approx. 1/2 c milk
chocolate syrup (optional)

Method:

Cove the bottom of your dish with a layer of crumbled cookies - the thicker your cookie layer the more cake-like consistency you'll have. Carefully pour just enough milk on the cookies to dampen them slightly. For chocolate lovers - add a drizzle of chocolate syrup on top. Next, layer whipped cream. Repeat to finish with cookie crumbles on top. Chill at least a few hours. The longer you leave it in the fridge the softer it becomes - it just gets better!