Spinach Meatball Sliders

This was a super easy meal – the crock pot did most of the work.  It makes more meatballs than will fit on the sliders, but the leftovers can be combined with pasta or eaten on their own. 

Spinach Meatball Sliders

Ingredients:

• 1-26 oz bag frozen pre-cooked meatballs
• 2 cups Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese (I actually used a mix of cheddar, fresh mozzarella, and shredded mozarella)
• Grated parmesan cheese
• 9 Hawaiian bread rolls
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions:

1. Combine the meatballs, pasta sauce, tomatoes, garlic, spinach, and dashes of salt and pepper in a crock pot and stir to combine.  Cook on high for 3 hours. 

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Slice Hawaiian rolls almost in half, leaving the top still attached.  Top with mozzarella, then with meatballs and sauce from crock pot. 

3. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bread becomes toasty. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and then put tops back on sandwiches. 

Shrimp & Salame Pizza

We bought Trader Giotto’s Garlic & Herb Pizza Dough, Italian Dry Salame, and Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce from Trader Joe’s yesterday, so tonight we made pizza for dinner.  I love making homemade pizzas – they always taste 100x better than the frozen kind, and you can make any kind you can dream up! 

The dough was fresh and very easy to work with.  It was available in regular, whole wheat, or garlic & herb.  I added artichoke and shrimp for a bit more variety and I loved the combination.  Here’s the recipe: 

Shrimp & Salame Pizza:

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 ounce) package Garlic & Herb pizza dough
• 10 – 12 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 10 – 12 slices Italian dry salame
• 1 cup Creamy Tomato Basil pasta sauce
• ½ cup six-cheese Italian blend
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
• 2 – 3 artichoke hearts, sliced
• Handful of spinach/spring mix, chopped
• 10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 fresh green onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T olive oil

Directions:

1. Let pizza dough sit out for at least 20 minutes to soften.

2. Preheat oven to 450°.

3. In a small saucepan, sauté minced garlic and olive oil.  Add shrimp and cook until almost pink (they will cook more in the oven).  I bought unpeeled shrimp, so I had to remove the legs and shell before adding to the pizza.     

4. On a greased baking sheet, spread out the pizza dough carefully.

5. Bake dough in oven for 5 minutes prior to adding ingredients (this helps keep it from getting soggy).

6. Spread the sauce over the dough, and then top with remaining ingredients.

7. Bake for another 15 – 20 minutes until crust it toasty. 

Tomato Basil Fettuccine

When I spent the CL Deal for Joe and Son’s Olive Oil, I bought a package of Pasta Mama’s tomato basil fettuccine pasta.  It is made by a small company in Richland, WA that says it only uses fresh ingredients.  Since it isn’t as processed as normal boxed pastas, it only required cooking for a few minutes.  I’ve only ever made boxed pasta – this one tasted much more flavorful and fresh.

Tomato Basil Fettuccini

Ingredients:

• 1-12 oz package Tomato Basil Fettuccine
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 cup tomato basil pasta sauce
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 t red pepper
• 1 t black pepper
• Dash of salt
• Romano parmesan cheese, to taste

Directions:

1. Put a large pot of water on the stovetop with a dash of salt to get it boiling. 

2. While the water heats up, peel and chop the garlic into small pieces.  Drizzle olive oil on a pan and sauté spinach with the garlic. Season with red & black pepper.

3. When the water is boiling, put the pasta in.  If it is fresh dried like mine, let it return to a boil and only cook it 2½ minutes.  If it is boxed, follow the box instructions.

4.  Drain the pasta and return to the large pot. 

5.  Add the spinach and pasta sauce to the pan and toss to coat the pasta.

6.  Serve and top with romano parmesan cheese.