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).

Sourdough Discard Waffles

I’ve been experimenting with sourdough starter lately. Each time sourdough starter is fed with fresh flour and water, a portion of the unfed starter is set aside (otherwise, it won’t take long until you find yourself with more sourdough starter than you know what to do with). The portion of starter that is set aside is called “discard”. Discard is an unfortunate name because it leads some to believe you have to actually throw it away, but it’s a perfectly good mixture of flour, water, natural yeast, and good-for-you bacteria so why not put it to good use by adding it to recipes.

Today I’ll be using some of my sourdough discard to make mini waffles. The recipe makes 12-14 mini waffles that freeze beautifully (directions below). Reheat them straight out of the freezer using a toaster or toaster oven.

We’ll start by whisking together the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

Next we’ll weigh out the sourdough starter discard.

We’ll also need some melted butter.

And lastly, milk, eggs, and pure vanilla extract (I always use the good stuff!).

Whisk everything together until no clumps remain.

Use a #20 scoop to portion the perfect amount of batter into a preheated mini waffle maker (this is the one I love). Cook each mini waffle for about 3 minutes until brown and cooked through.

Leftovers should be allowed to cool completely before freezing in a zip-top freezer bag. To reheat - simply remove from freezer and place in toaster.

There you go - Enjoy!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• my mini waffle maker https://amzn.to/3sDhi9C

• #20 scoop https://amzn.to/3rLSL31

• digital scale https://amzn.to/3EHZkHL

• pure vanilla extract https://amzn.to/3ovS9fE

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Sourdough Discard Waffles

makes 12-14 mini waffles (4-inch diameter)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 5 ounces (by weight) all purpose flour

• 1 1/2 tablespoons (4 1/2 teaspoons) baking powder

• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon fine salt

• 8 ounces (by weight) sourdough discard (or sourdough starter)

• 6 tablespoons butter, melted

• 1/2 cup milk or milk substitute

• 2 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat mini waffle maker.

• In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

• Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until completely combined.

• Use a #20 scoop to portion the perfect amount of batter for each waffle (no need to grease or spray this waffle maker).

• Allow waffles to cook until brown on both sides (or until the amount of steam escaping from the waffle maker decreases greatly), about 3 minutes.

Notes

• I find there’s no need to grease, butter, or spray my mini waffle maker. Yours may be different.

• I allow my mini waffle maker to reheat for a minute or so after every 2 or 3 waffles.

• Leftover waffles freeze beautifully - I simple allow them to cool completely, then stack them in a zip-top storage bag. Reheat from frozen in a toaster or toaster oven.

adapted from serious eats