What's for Dinner?

Well, we have all been trying to get back on our schedules with school starting... and lets be honest, there is NO time left in the days again to have a gourmet meal. As we began our first school day today, I realized that I no longer have the freedom to go to the bathroom when I want, snack when I want, or have time to plan a decent meal. Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a little here... I did make a decent meal with little time last night.

As I searched Pinterest (again...) I found a recipe that looked yummy, quick, and with mild preparation. I found the recipe for Italian meatballs and tortellini during my browse session. Whats not to like? Meatballs...good. Tortellini...good. Parmesan cheese....good! (Friends reference anyone?!)

The recipe only calls for a bag of frozen meatballs of your choice (I used Johnsonville Classic Italian), frozen tortellini (I used Three Bridges - Five Cheese), a can of chicken broth and a jar of Ragu pasta sauce.

Here is a quick list of how to make it because really thats all it needs!

1. Cook meatballs in the oven for 28 minutes at 350°. Be careful here. My oven must be a super-duper oven and cooked them in 22 minutes. I also flipped them halfway through to prevent burning the bottom.
2. While the meatballs are cooking, add two cups of Ragu, one cup of chicken broth and tortellini in a frying pan. Cook on low heat for 8 minutes. I stirred this to get the ingredients mixed. You also DO NOT cook the tortellini prior to this. This was a major concern to me, but it tasted great in the end!
3. Add the cooked meatballs to the simmered pasta and cook on low heat for two more minutes.
4. Add parmesan cheese.
5. Pair with your favorite wine! I paired this meal with a Sweet Red from Cooper's Hawk (go figure...).

https://shop.coopershawkwinery.com/Sweet-Red.html

Just want to throw two quick tips out there for anyone who wants to make this. 

• Make sure you don't overcook your meatballs. It will ruin the meal.
• If you like your pasta with more sauce, use more of the Ragu and chicken broth since you have some leftover. Ours needed more sauce, but still tasted wonderful!

Here is a quick video showing you fast and easy steps!

Okay, so we can all make this meal on a school night right? It is possible and, duh, it is delicious. 

As we move into the next hectic two weeks I am curious to know what meal you have that is even easier or quicker than this one. I will be coaching softball after school and will not be getting home until REALLY late at night. I need some help with the easiest, most effortless meals to make.  Please share if you have anything great!

Bon appétit!!

Grillin' in the Heat

Happy Monday everyone!

This weekend I was determined to top my simple chicken and salad meal from two weeks ago. I was the crazy person who decided to grill in the 90 degree heat this past Sunday (face-> palm).  I wanted to really beef (no pun intended) up my meal so I decided to make chicken and beef kabobs. What I did not realize was how long this whole process would take, but in the end the food was delicious!

My parents told me they would make this essentially from scratch all the time, so I decided to give it a try. First I began by cubing the chicken and beef. Man is there a lot of excess fat on the beef! I had to cut all the fat off and felt like there was no beef left! After I was done cutting the meat, I moved on to making the marinade. Sure this meal would have been fine simply being marinaded with Italian dressing, but my dad has a wonderful kabob marinade, so I decided to try that! After mixing the vegetable oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic and pepper in a plastic Ziploc bag, I added the meat, also. I made sure to really toss the bag around to make sure the meats were covered in marinade before putting it in the fridge for about 5 hours.

Later in the day I began to cut up the vegetables. This consisted of green pepper, red pepper, onion and mushrooms. My dad had to step in and cut the onions though because I wasn't up for crying! I made sure to cut the veggies into thicker pieces so they would grill well and stay on the skewer better. I decided to make meat skewers and vegetable skewers because my parents mentioned the vegetables seemed to cook a lot faster than the meat. My mom asked me if I needed help while I was cooking so she made some rice to go on the side. Thanks Mom!

Now this is the part I wasn't ready for; the amount of time it took to grill. I was also the dummy who decided to grill in 30mph winds on a 90 degree day! Overall it took about 15 -20 minutes, with some taste testing to see how close they were to being done. At this point I was impatient and sweaty and vouched to never grill in that type of heat again. Even though I say that, the kabobs turned out to be wonderful.

Before eating I was in need of pouring myself a refreshment. I paired this meal with the Cooper's Hawk White Sangria. I chose this wine because with the meat and vegetables being grilled and more of a salty flavor, I wanted to pair it with something a little more sweet. I'm sure a red wine would have also gone well with this, but the white sure went down just fine!

We also decided to pull out different sauces to put with our rice and kabobs. I found it best to just be to mix up all the pieces so they all caught some of each others flavors. Here is a picture of the finished product!

After completing this meal, I felt much more accomplished than last time. As school and chaos is approaching quickly, I am looking for some quick, yet delicious, meals to make on weeknights. Do you have a favorite weeknight recipe that you are willing to share? Please post if you do!

Bon appétit!!