Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Meatball "boats" - kid friendly and freezable

Four ingredients for this one. I got the idea from an old Taste of Home. I was on the lookout for something that kids could help make AND would like to eat, and this one got a definite thumbs up from the peanut gallery. I know it's out of character for me to use so much pre-fab food...but you gotta do easy some times!
Cook a package of large shell pasta according to the package directions. Rinse them in cold water as soon as you pull them out of the pot so that you can actually handle them, then spread out on a large plate misted with PAM so that they don't stick. In the mean time, thaw a package of 32 meatballs. Pour a half cup of sauce from a quart jar into the bottom of a 9x13 pan and spread it around. Have your helpers help you stuff a meatball inside each shell, and nestle them all into the pan. Next time I make this, I will toss the meatballs with some of the sauce before doing this. Messier, yes, but I think it'll really improve the flavor of the end product.
Drizzle the remaining sauce over the top of all the shells, then have your helpers spread cheese on top. I used about 2 cups. You could use less, but would you want to?
Mmmmm, cheese.... Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, covered with foil, then remove the foil and bake an additional 5-10 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and golden.
And there you have it. A simple, kid friendly dinner solution with less than 5 ingredients.

1 comment:

Lisle said...

I have those 5 ingredients! What a fun idea!