Dinner is often the mother of invention. This time it worked out well. I had a few veggies and a can of Grands Biscuits and made a pretty awesome and tasty dinner. Yay me!
I made three different looking pop overs. I did this mainly because I was getting hungry and running out of patience. I'm please to report they were all awesome.
Version #1 was a biscuit rolled thin, topped and then folded over on itself. You can't over stuff these or they just bust out instead of pop over. Heh!
Version #2 was made with two biscuits rolled flat. The filling was added to one and the second biscuit placed on top.
Version #3 contained the last of the veggie stuffing tossed in a ramekin and topped with the last biscuit. I didn't roll it out but I did smash it a little to cover the surface of the veggies a little better.
Oh dear, where did the picture of the ramekin go?
Anyhoo...
Here's what I used but you can use just about any combination of meats and veggies you want. Just aim for a thick sauce at the end. If the veggies have too much liquid your biscuits will be soggy.
Preheat oven to 375
Line a cookie sheet with parchment
Veggie Filling:
1/2 Medium Onion
3 Cups of Sliced Mushrooms (About 2/3rds a container)
3 Cups of Kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups of Vegetable Stock
1/4 tsp of Thyme
1/4 tsp of Herbs de Provence
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp pepper (I did about 8 turns of the pepper mill)
1 Cup Frozen Mixed Vegetables (Corn, Beans, Carrots and Peas variety is what I used)
2 tbsp Butter
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp flour
1/4 Parmesan Cheese
Heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, mushroom and spices and cook until they release their liquids and start cooking down. When the liquid is almost gone, add 1 cup of the stock and stir in the kale. Cover and let the kale steam and get tender. Add more broth as necessary to keep the steam going. Finally, stir in the frozen vegetables and the tablespoon of flour mixed in with a 1/2 cup of stock and the butter and cook for another 10 minutes or so or until you have a nice and thick sauce. It's ok to add more flour and stock to get it where you need it.
Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes
Pop Over:
Roll out your biscuits until they're about the size of small saucers. Fill them with 3-4 tablespoons of the cooked veggies and a pinch of cheese. Leave about 1/2' edge to seal the biscuits. Add another rolled biscuit to the top. Crimp the edges of the pop overs with the tines of a fork and stab the top of pop over 2-3 times with the fork to make steam holes.
Bake for 13 minutes or until they're a golden brown.
I'm not making this tonight so I don't have any photos just yet. Some of my single friends keep asking so I'm just going to throw up a quick and dirty recipe for you.
I'm here to serve.
This is super easy and a perfect lunch or dinner when you have to feed a group or you just want to cook once and eat all week. I'm not sure which genius first put this together. A bachelor friend made this years ago and it was so easy my flabber got ghasted. It's an easy go to meal when we have friends in town and I need to feed a crowd without wrecking the kitchen or spending the day in it.
Meatball Subs
1 Bag of Frozen Pre-cooked Italian Style Meatballs
1 16oz Jar of Regular Spaghetti Sauce
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese and/or Shredded Italian Cheese Blend and or sliced provalone
Hoagie Rolls
Pinch of Italian Seasoning, Red Pepper Flakes or Oregano to taste (optional)
- Pour the bag of frozen pre-cooked meatballs into your crock pot.
- Pour the jar of spaghetti sauce over the meatballs.
- Put the lid on and turn it on the high setting. (Note: Plug it in. Trust me...so much better when it's plugged in. :P)
- Try to give it a stir after two hours. It's not mandatory but it helps eliminate any cold spots in the meatballs.
- After 3 hours cut into a meatball to make sure they're heated through (or cook on low for 5ish hours if you'll be out of the house.)
- Serve on hoagies with shredded cheese
- You can put your subs under the broiler to get the cheese all gooey and the bread a little toasted before or after you load it with meatballs. (Optional)
Tips:
When I have the option of meatball sizes I always get the smaller ones that are 0.5oz meatballs. The big ones (2oz meatballs) don't fit on the roll very well and they make a big mess when you try to eat them. You can always cut them in half after they're cooked, but go with the bag of the smaller meatballs instead of the jumbo gobstopper size.
Make sure you get the pre-cooked Italian style meatballs. If you use raw meatballs you'll end up with a meat soup...or just meaty sauce, depending on creative license.
Regular ho-hum spaghetti sauce works best. I usually use Ragu or Prego and get their traditional spaghetti sauce. I'm sure I've used my fair share of store brands over the years as well. Sauces with the chunky vegetables or other big bits don't really give enough cooking liquid.
All slow cookers seem to cook at different temperatures. You may need to adjust your time according to your slow cooker's personality.
Resist taking the lid off and checking it during the first 2 hours. Pretty please! Every time you remove the lid it adds to the cooking time. AND DON'T leave the spoon sitting in the slow cooker with the lid cockeyed. One of the cardinal rules of cooking with a slow cooker means you leave it alone. That seal that's created by steam between the pot and the lid actually keeps it cooking without everything drying out. I am old...I am wise...trust me. Cook it on low if you need to be out of the house and are worried about over-cooking.
Slow cookers aren't really meant for one person portions. You'll end up with a dried out mess if you try to make this for one with 4 meatballs and some sauce. Just stick with big portions. Your friends will thank you.
Put any extras into sandwich size portions in plastic storage containers or zipper bags. Pack it up with a bun and some cheese and you can re-heat it at work for lunch. If you run out of buns you can toss it on some pasta. Who doesn't have some kind of pasta?
I use a Crock Pot slow cooker and it's about 4.5-5 quarts. It's battle worn and also very shy so I found this one from the Crock Pot website to post instead.
