This is a recipe from a cold day in Maine one year
For dinner tonight since Its freezing here in Maine 17 degrees, I decided to make a casserole. I cut a corner because of costs of the ingredients. I used Rotini pasta and a package of frozen Italian style mini meatballs. It’s full of melty cheese, and the tomato sauce totally counts as a veggie.
Ingredients:
For the meatballs:
1 pound lean ground chicken
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 egg
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup milk
For the casserole:
1 pound campanelle pasta (any small shape is fine, such as ziti)
1 jar (24 ounces) marinara sauce (Barilla)
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook for 1 minute less than package directions state.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
While the pasta is cooking, prepare the meatballs. Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl and use your hands to mix them together well. Form into small balls, about 1 inch in diameter and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink. Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Add the pasta sauce to a large bowl and stir in the cooked pasta and meatballs. Stir gently to coat everything in sauce.
Spread half of the pasta and meatballs into a 9x13 baking dish. Top with half of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Serve immediately.
*To freeze this dish, stop just short of baking the casserole, cover tightly with foil, and freeze until ready to bake. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly.*
--If using tea bags: hang tea bags inside pitcher or jar with strings hanging over the rim (for easy removal later). Add water making sure that tea is immersed, cover, and put in fridge for 6-12 hours. Remove tea bags and serve.
--If using loose leaf tea: add 4 teaspoons tea leaves to a tea basket, tea ball or tea filter bag. Rest over top of jar or pitcher so the tea will be exposed to the water, but it can easily be removed after the tea has steeped. Place in the refrigerator for 6-12 hours. Remove tea leaves, and it's ready to serve.
ADJUST RECIPE FOR ANY QUANTITY. Use 1 teabag or 1 teaspoon of loose leaf tea per cup of water.