Cheesy Meatball Casserole

I love the simplicity of this dish. No matter how busy my day is, I can pull a bag of my make ahead freezer meatballs out of the freezer and grab a can of crushed tomatoes from the pantry to put a hot meal on the table in less than an hour. Served with a salad or steamed vegetable on the side, it’s a very satisfying meal.

To make the sauce, sauce a minced clove of garlic in a little olive oil for 30-60 seconds. If you like heat, add some crushed red pepper flakes too. Immediately add a 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes (remember, the better the tomatoes, the better your sauce will taste). Stir to combine.

Cover skillet with splatter shield and simmer sauce over low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add meatballs (and fresh basil if using) and stir to coat. Cover with splatter shield again and continue simmering for about 10 minutes.

Turn off stovetop and uncover skillet. Sprinkle shredded part-skim mozzarella and crushed dried parsley all over the meatballs and place in preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese melts and develops a few toasty brown spots.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• 12-inch cast iron skillet https://amzn.to/3cztoY6

• splatter shield https://amzn.to/2XdPnxb

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Cheesy Meatball Casserole

makes 6 servings

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more)

• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 28 ounces crushed tomatoes

• 1/4 recipe Make Ahead Freezer Meatballs (about 1 1/2 pounds)

• 1-2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

• garnish: chopped fresh basil or parsley

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375F.

• In a 12-inch oven-safe skillet on medium, heat the olive oil, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes, stirring constantly, until oil bubbles and garlic is fragrant (should only take a minute or so).

• Immediately add crushed red pepper flakes and reduce heat to medium low; cover with a splatter shield and bring to a gentle boil.

• Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

• Add frozen meatballs and toss to coat; cover and heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

• Uncover skillet and spread cheese evenly over the surface; place skillet in center of preheated oven until cheese melts and browns a bit.

• Remove from oven and sprinkle with freshly chopped basil or parsley.

Note

• I used 1/4 batch of my Make Ahead Freezer Meatballs for to make this recipe (about 1.5 pounds of meatballs).

Mission Chili

A few times year, we get together with a group of friends to provide a chili dinner for one of the local charities. We serve 3 different batches of chili, and mine is typically the spiciest (for the record, I don’t think it’s that spicy, and you can easily adjust to the heat level you like).

I don’t usually follow a recipe when I make chili - I add this and that until I get it just the way I like it. If time permits (and I’m in the mood to chop), I’ll use fresh onions and garlic. Today my attention was divided among several kitchen tasks so I opted to use dried minced onions and garlic. Sometimes I cook the beans from dried - today I used canned kidney beans, but other varieties like black, pinto, navy, cannellini, great northern, etc work equally well. Basically, I keep the meat, bean, and tomato ratio the same and the rest is pretty flexible. Anyway, I was quite pleased with today’s batch so I wrote down the exact measurements for you. Check out the notes listed below the recipe to see my suggested substitutions.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• heavy bottom 12qt stock pot https://amzn.to/3TZZGRz

• masa harina https://amzn.to/3zFr3IN

• chipotles in adobo https://amzn.to/39NdUOa

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Big Batch Mission Chili

makes about 12 quarts (48 cups)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 5 pounds 85% lean ground beef (or turkey)

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 2 tablespoons kosher salt

• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper

• 3 green bell peppers, diced

• 4 tablespoons minced dried onions (see notes below)

• 4 tablespoons ground cumin

• 2 tablespoons dried parsley

• 2 tablespoons dried chili powder

• 2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika

• 1 tablespoon minced dried garlic (see notes below)

• 1 tablespoon dried oregano

• 4 cans (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes (see notes below)

• 3 cans (45 ounces) dark red kidney beans with their liquid (see notes below)

• 1 can (7 ounces) chipotles in adobo, finely chopped

• 1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chiles

• 1 cup Masa Harina (see notes below)

• 1 cup water

Directions

1. In 12-quart or larger, heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium-high heat, combine oil, beef, salt, pepper, and onions and garlic (if using fresh); cook, stirring frequently, until crumbled and no pink remains.

2. Add bell peppers and all the dried herbs and spiced; cook for several minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Add the canned tomatoes, beans (with their liquid), chipotles in adobo, and green chiles; stir well and bring to a boil, stirring every 5-10 minutes to keep the bottom of the pot from burning.

4. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about an hour (don’t forgot to continue scraping the bottom of the pan every 5-10 minutes).

5. In a medium bowl, whisk together masa harina and water until no lumps remain; stir well into chili.

6. Serve with assorted garnish - fresh lime wedges, fresh cilantro, shredded cheese, Mexican crema or sour cream, chopped scallions, diced avocado, sliced jalapeño, tortilla strips, etc.

Notes

• Masa Harina (aka Masa de Harina or Maseca) is a finely ground corn flour or cornmeal made from dried hominy, which is corn that has been soaked in an alkaline solution. Masa Harina is what gives corn tortillas and tamales their distinctive flavor. Adding masa harina to chill is optional, and I made chili without it for years, but ever since I discovered how much flavor and texture it adds, I can’t go back.

• Use good quality, low-acid canned tomatoes - some brands I like are SMT, Cento, Contadina, Muir Glen, Pomi.

• To substitute dried beans (any kind is fine), cook 3 pounds (save some of the cooking water just in case you need to thin the chili a bit).

• To substitute fresh onions and garlic, mince 2 large yellow onions and 4 cloves of garlic (add while browning ground beef).

• For less spicy chili, reduce or omit the canned chipotle peppers in adobo (or substitute chipotle powder or chipotle flavored tabasco sauce to taste).

• Feel free to omit the bell peppers, or go ahead and add some chopped tomatoes, or use a different kind of bean (or a mix of beans), or toss in some corn or hominy kernels…. go for it!

• If using canned beans, no need to drain them (I do, however, like to drain canned black beans).