Spaghetti and Meatball STUFFED Calzones

I feel a carb coma coming on just reading the title.  How about you?  Do you know who had this idea?  I will give you one guess..........wait for it.............wait for it.............GEORGE!  Admittedly though, when he suggested I try this, my mouth salivated like a rabid dog all the way to the grocery store.

I am a bit addicted to spaghetti and meatballs.......  Since my childhood when my made it every single birthday because I would request it, I have loved it.  We would sometimes make spaghetti and meatball sandwiches with the garlic bread the next day.  This reminded me of that!

I used prepackaged items simply because this was a last minute request, and so yea.....I cheated.  Majorly cheated.  I will link my meatballs, marinara and pizza dough recipes below if you want to do all homemade. 

12 oz spaghetti, cooked
24 oz marinara sauce
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
frozen meatballs that you have thawed (about 5 per calzone)
2 cans of store bought pizza dough
olive oil
oregano

Boil your pasta, drain and let cool.  In a large bowl combine the pasta, with the marinara sauce.  Mix until combined and set aside. 

Here is where you decide if you are making 4 LARGE calzones or 8 smaller.  The choice is  yours, the only thing it affects is how many meatballs you use or how you portion out the spaghetti mixture.  Either do it in 8 or 4.

Unroll and cut your dough to the size you have decided on.  Place your spaghetti on first, in equal portions.  Next, add on your cheese.  Let it RAAAIIINNNN cheese friends! (as you can see we made 4 huge ones)

Then go the meatballs!  I cut them in half!

Now, fold it over and press the edges down to seal.  You can use a fork to press down the edges to seal better!

Place onto a baking sheet you have sprayed with cooking spray.  Drizzle the top with olive oil and brush on evenly.  You can sprinkle on some oregano if you like!

Bake according to the pizza dough package directions.  Right after you take them out, sprinkle the top with a little Parmesan if you like!  Let sit about 5 minutes before serving!

ENJOY!

RECIPES for homemade ingredients!
Pizza Dough
Meatballs and Sauce

Slow Cooker Italian Style Stuffed Peppers

Ok so here is the scenario.............

You are invited to your kids house for dinner.  Your daughter in law and son are both good cooks.  But when you walk in the house  you just know THIS time is going to be different.  You sit down to dinner, and literally moan and groan over each bite of deliciousness.  This is what happened to me. 

My daughter in law and I have a great relationship.  Shocked? HA!  Oh we butt heads, we disagree, but, I just adore her strength, her mothering, her sense of humor, she is just a delight.  (sometimes a sick little delight) ROFL  Anyway, she was kind enough to tell me how she made these stuffed peppers and said that her mom-mom (eastie speak for grandma btw) has made these for years, ths way. 

I am not sure I recall my mom ever making stuffed peppers, I only had eaten them as an adult.  And I have a strange relationship with bell peppers.  If they are cooked, I want them to resemble mush.  If they are warm and crisp tender, I might hurl.  Cold and crispy or hot and soft.  Those are their only chance with me!  Kayla had said she left hers in to long, psshhh......not a chance, they were perfection!  My measurements and such may not be the same as hers but I got the whole idea and made them to share with you. 

I like the idea of the Italian style, I served mine with a little pasta and that heavenly sauce that took on the roasted pepper flavor, was nectar from the Gods.  It tasted VERY much like my Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Marinara.  It was like a meatball, in a smooshy pepper, on some pasta, topped with this sauce, and my goodness was it a delight.

Make these, in your SLOW COOKER!!  I swear it is what this kitchen appliance was MADE for!

This recipe makes 6 peppers.  I used a couple of different colors, for interest.  But next time, I am sticking with green on this one, not generally what I would choose but they hold up the best in my opinion!

You will need:

2lbs lean ground beef
3/4 cup regular rice (not minute)
1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
6 bell peppers
4-6 cups of your favorite marinara/spaghetti sauce

In a large bowl combine ground beef, rice, Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  Get your hands in there, become one with your food!! Mix until completely combined.  Set aside.

To prepare your peppers, cut the tops off, just beneath the stems.  Use a spoon to scrape out the sides and membranes (the white stuff), rinse and repeat. 

Now start stuffing.  This will depend on size, but I had exactly the right amount of stuffing to exactly fill all 6 peppers.  You can take some, add some, whatever you need to do to fill your peppers. 

Spray the inside of your slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray, it just makes clean up easier.  Place the peppers in the crock pot, and pour over your spaghetti sauce.  Make sure each is topped with sauce and there is some standing in the bottom.  Put the lid on and cook for 4 hours on high or 6-8 on low.  Now by all means, don't cook these quite as long if you want a more crisp pepper.

Serve with some crusty bread, or pasta, or both!  These are a delicious version of stuffed peppers and I do hope you give it a try!

Thanks Kay for your recipe!  Love you toots!

ENJOY!

Pork Braciole

Good evening friends, I hope this finds you all relaxing after a day hard at work or play!  Oh, I just considered it might find you with 2 screaming children, a barking dog, a ringing phone, and smoking oven, all at the same time.  Oh dear, if that is the case.... WHY are sitting reading this?!

Braciole.  My mother in law makes ZEE best.  Now I would like to say that this is traditionally made with beef.  Flank steak is my meat of choice on the regular but, I am not sure if that is REALLY traditional or just, what most people do.  Isn't that the same thing? HA!  Hey I had pork loin I wanted to use, so I went with it.  And might I say, I am so very glad I did!

This is a bit of a process, but not to bad.  You can use small pieces of meat and make small braciole, or use a larger piece and slice it to serve several.  What a great idea to get a lot of bang for your buck, one nice thick piece of steak to serve at least 4 adults.  We could be on to something here!  So do not let the size or instruction of the recipe keep you from trying it.  It isn't hard, it is just a few steps to perfection.  I used 2 small pork loins.  Wait, not small, just short.  I by the gargantuan size pork loins and cut them into 3.  This recipe will do a large steak, or 2 pork loins as I did.

First you must prepare the meat.  If you can't find a thinly pounded piece of beef or pork, you will need to do it yourself.  I butterflied my 2 smallish pork loins and then went to town pounding them out with a meat tenderizer.  You could also use a heavy skillet if you want.  Get it about 1/2 an inch thick or less all over.  You know, you can really pound it to whatever thickness you like.   If you do not know how to butterfly a piece of meet, just cut it horizontally, leaving about 1 inch at the end NOT cut, flip it open like a book and then start to pound it thin.  Easy enough?  This filling recipe will make 2 bracioles.  If you are using only ONE piece of meat, HALF the recipe!

Filling
1 1/2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs (I use fresh)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 egg
2 tsps. or 2 cloves of garlic grated or VERY FINELY minced
2=4 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
4-5 cups of pasta sauce, homemade or purchased

Combine all ingredients together.  Use more or less olive oil depending on how dry or wet your filling is.  You want it to hold together when you squeeze it.  I trust you can eyeball this little detail.

With your piece of meat laying out flat, top it with your filling, spreading it evenly over the entire thing.  Carefully roll the meat up, and using some kitchen string, tie it in about 3-5 places, holding it together.  (I had already rolled my braciole and had to unroll it for a photo!)

In a large pot, brown the meat for 2-3 minutes on each side until nicely browned.

When browned, add your crushed tomatoes or pasta sauce!  I also add a bit of water to mine.  Cover and let simmer for 1-2 hours depending on the thickness of your meat and size of the braciole!  When it is done, remove and let sit for 10 minutes before slicing!

Use your sauce over some short cut pasta and call it a meal!

Roasted Red Pepper Marinara

Hello beautiful friends!  I am in a good mood, can you tell?  If I tell you why, you won't believe it.  I have just made the most amazing marinara, EVER.  Yes, I said EVER.  Just look at this beautiful goodness!

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This may look like your everyday, run of the mill sauce, but trust me, it isn't!  I was watching a blogger friend who also has a YouTube channel.  Her name is Heather, of "Mishmawshandotherthings", and you can find her at her blog, or here at her youtube channel.  I was inspired by her homemade marinara.  I took her method, and some of her ingredients and added a few things of my own.  This recipe looked fantastic and roasting the veggies before cooking them is fantastic.  What flavor!!!!  I have to thank her for being an inspiration for this recipe.  I hope you go join up with her, she is a good lady, a real mom, with real kids, and she cooks real food.  GOOD food.

I am planning on making a large batch or multiple batches of this sauce to can or freeze.  I am adding no meat, (as Heather did), and can see using this for a soup base, lasagna, for stuffed peppers, cabbage rolls, gravy, I mean the list goes on and on!  Oh it was ROCK over meatloaf!  When you want to add meat, you treat it as you would any other sauce, dare I say "jarred".  Add your browned meat, meatballs, sausages, whatever you want.  This is a versatile baby and I think you will love it!

10-15 tomatoes (cut out the core and cut in half)
4 cloves of garlic (peeled)
1/2 onion (cut into chunks)
1/2 red bell pepper
olive oil
salt
sugar
5-7 leaves of basil (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350.  Prepare all of your ingredients.  When you have them ready to roast, put them on your sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil and salt liberally. 

Roast for 1 hour.  Remove and let cool for 5 minutes.

Put all roasted goodness into your blender.  Blend on high until smooth.  If you do not have a powerful blender you can strain it through a fine mesh strainer, mine left a FEW pieces of skin but I left them.  If I had blended longer they likely would have been completely pulverized!  I added about 5 large basil leaves to mine before I blended as well!

Add back into your saucepan and add sugar to taste.  I added 2 tbsp.  I also added salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. 

This is absolutely the most delicious marinara I have ever made or tasted I think.  As you can see I simply added it to some plain spaghetti and just enjoyed the goodness!  Crisp, clean, fresh and homemade goodness.  You may never by jarred sauce again, I know I won't, not even in an emergency!

Your "garden goodness and homemade happiness"Chefwannabe

Chicken Parmigiana

How many of you are elated over it being "BACK TO SCHOOL" time? HA!  Come on, you can admit it, we have all been there!   I am a schedule freak.   Even with 10 activities, I could plan around them and for them and know they were coming.  That somehow made me feel much better about life in general.

Anyway, I enjoyed having a little more time to cook and it being cooler so I WANTED to spend more time cooking!  I only realized 2 hours ago I hadn't shared this recipe with you guys.  It was one of the first recipes I "pulled out of my shoes" when I had to learn to cook.  I love my version.  There are so many, but I am here to tell you, well, I love mine!  My family loves it, my friends love it and frankly, they are pretty tough to please!  Ok, not really but it seemed the natural thing to say in my little "sales pitch".  This recipe is a little bit of a process.  Well, not really.  Well, it depends on if a process to you is normally opening a jar or catching your own dinner.  It is easy, and good things sometimes take a few extra steps.  It will be well worth your time and energy.  This freezes like a charm and I make extra for just that reason. 

This really is a family favorite and all joking aside, it is the kind of dish you can feel good about serving, you will know their tummy's and their souls are fed!  I mean after all, food IS love!

Fasten your seatbelt, here we go!

4 chicken breasts, cut in half thickness then pounded out to make slightly thinner
4 cups or 24 oz jar of marinara sauce
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups flour
2 eggs
water
2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
salt
pepper
2- 8 ounce balls of mozzarella cheese or 16 ounces grated mozzarella
peanut or vegetable oil

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare your chicken breasts by slicing them in half horizontally, so you get 2 out of 1.  They will be thinner that way.  When you have done that, gently pound the chicken until it is just slightly thinner and bigger pieces than the original.  This is a no brainer, don't pound it to thin, just give it few hits.  Lay your chicken out and salt and pepper both sides.   You should have 8 pieces (servings)

Now prepare your sauce.  In a medium saucepan, add in your marinara and your diced tomatoes.  Regardless if you doctor up store bought, or use your own, add any other seasonings you like at this point, turn to low heat and let simmer while you prepare the rest. 

Now to bread that beautiful chicken!  Put 1 1/2 cups flour in a large Ziploc back.  In a shallow dish whisk 2 eggs with a splash of water.  Salt and pepper the egg as well.  In a second shallow dish or pie plate, add in 2 cups of bread crumbs and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese.  I use fresh, and seasoned them with Italian seasoning and salt and pepper.  If you use dry and already seasoned that is fine. 

OMG, now you know I used JARRED sauce! ACK!


Toss all of your chicken pieces into the flour, zip up the top and toss to coat all of the chicken evenly.  Remove one piece at a time, dunk in the egg and then coat in the crumbs.  Place into a skillet heated on medium with your oil.  Fry on medium, slowly!  You will get the most gorgeous golden brown crust, your heart will melt!  Fry approx. 3 minutes on each side.  If you choose to not pound out your chicken breasts you might need an extra minute or 2 since they will be thicker. 

When they are all coated, fried and finished, place unto  a foil lined baking sheet.  (I am all for easy cleanup)

Now take a spoonful of your sauce, and lay it on the top of your chicken, then using whatever mozzarella cheese you choose, cover the top.  It is my opinion fresh is best, but use what makes you happy. 

Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.  This is a good time to boil up your pasta and have it all ready at the same time!   ENJOY!!

Your "Italian food for the Italian soup" Chefwannabe