Freezer Friendly: Homemade Crockpot Chili

Hi there :) Missed you guys! But, do tell.  How much are you loving the easy and delicious recipes from Team ACT?  I tell you what... I am SO glad she is a part of my team! In honor of Fall being Just . Around. The. Corner - let's get some chili cooking!  Set it - forget it - and enjoy it after a long day. I've tried many crockpot recipes for chili.  Some have been better than others, but this one has been my favorite so far.  And it makes a LOT.   I had plenty to serve for dinner to 4 adults and have enough to freeze for later.  We LOVE LOVE LOVED it served over baked potatoes with some cheese sprinkled on top.  This recipe was also the first in which I made my own homemade chili seasoning.  The recipe I found and used was delicious and had a little kick.  The best part about making your own is being able to control the amount and type of ingredients - I used less salt and more hot peppers for the kick.  YUM.

Meatball Subs! - Freezer Friendly!

Along with my freezer cooking preps a few weeks back, I made a pan of meatballs for us to have.  These are by far my favorite - and they are so moist and juicy!  This time instead of making them small, I made them about the size of a ping pong ball and cooked them a bit longer.  Last Saturday, we had just gotten back from a trip and were in full "Let's do nothing" mode.  Ever have one of those days?  We literally did nothing all day.  It was great to relax!

Well, I couldn't very well cook could I?  So I pulled out these babies and whipped up some marinara.  Actually, I had planned to have these sandwiches because I had bought some club rolls and shredded mozzarella, but I forgot the sauce!  So I made some really quickly.  I might just start making it this way all the time.  

For the sauce: Take a large can of whole peeled tomatoes.  Add to a sauce pan and use a spatula to break up the tomatoes.  I added a dash of basil paste and 3 cloves of smashed garlic (that I later removed).  You could also add some red pepper flakes, some onion, and/or olive oil.  This is where you can go crazy.  Add some shredded veges to make a pumped up spaghetti sauce that your kids won't know there's veges hiding in :)  I let it simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

For the meatballs: Pull 6 out of the freezer (or enough for you and your family - 3 meatballs per sandwich).  I defrosted at 1.5 minutes on 30% power. Then cooked them for 2 minutes on full power or until heated through.  

Now it's time to assemble the sandwich!  Slice the rolls almost all the way through and place in a "bed" of foil (this will help when you heat it and also helps the sandwich stay upright).  Put in a little marinara, add 3 meatballs, spoon a little more marinara over the meatballs, top with shredded mozzarella cheese and broil until the cheese is brown and bubbly.  I put mine in the toaster oven for even less work!

These were to-die-for.  Really.  And took no time to make!

Put remaining marinara in the refrigerator (or freeze) until you need to use it.  I used it to make Cinci's Chili on Sunday.  Yes!!


The Verdict
Hello easy peasy sandwich.  You are my new favorite.  Yespleaseandthankyou.

P.s. Make meatball sliders the same way for a quick, easy, and fun appetizer!
P.p.s. Even Little One loved these sandwiches!!

Super Bowl Sunday

Go Big Blue?!  We're not big football fans, but where we live almost mandates that you love football and pick a team.  So, we are pulling for the NY Giants :)  But secretly, we're watching mostly for the commercials! On the menu tonight: Blue Corn Chip Nachos Apple Blueberry Pie No, I didn't specifically plan this menu because of who we are pulling for.  Instead, this is a meal of necessity when I realized I reeeeaaaaaallllllly needed to go to the grocery store.  And next to Thanksgiving, Super Bowl weekend in a big football area would have been wild AND cRaZy.  So, we made do with what we had around ;)