When I’m spending days making salsa, sometimes other cooking is neglected.  My poor 6′2″ son and my husband would starve if I didn’t have frozen stuff waiting in the wings.  Meatballs are one of my favorite staples.  They’re quick, delicious, filling and hearty.  This weekend when I was up to my elbows in salsa making I knew I had to do something fast and easy, in the microwave for our dinner that wouldn’t get in the way of my work.  Well, I took some leftover penne pasta and sauce, threw in some Mama Lucia meatballs and cheese and microwaved it.  It was the perfect meal since we really didn’t want to stop chopping.  The next morning my son woke up starving, because he went to a party and was too late for the pizza that had been served.  Before I could make the eggs, he grabbed a bowl of cold leftovers from our quickly thrown together meal and ate it cold (not my favorite way, but hey it worked for him).  Then later he heated up another bowl for lunch.  I’m serious they love the stuff. 

For Thanksgiving or other big family meals, I take frozen meatballs and put it in a crockpot with onions and peppers, and sauce.  People munch on it all night long.  It’s such a treat and since we travel a couple of hours to visit family, it’s an easy set up.  Mama Lucia’s meatballs are just perfect for any gathering.

Diana’s Famous Meatballs in a Crockpot

• 1 box of Mama Lucia’s Italian Style Meatballs
• 1/2 jar spaghetti sauce (more if you like it that way)
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 can diced tomatoes with basil
• 1 sweet onion cut up into thin strips
• 2 green peppers cut up into thin strips
• Fresh Basil
• Mozzarella Cheese

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One of my favorite shows on the Food Network is Throwdown with Bobby Flay, where the chef challenges a specialist to a judged contest to see who makes the better dish.  It’s all in good fun and I learn a lot from watching the show.  A recent throwdown about eggplant parmesan inspired me to revisit my favorite summer comfort food! (more…)