Puppy Love and Meatball Sub Casserole

Today is National Puppy Day. To celebrate, our team not only had the opportunity to bring their pups to work. They even had their own extra special Crock-Pot Thursday lunch. You'll never guess who got to eat lunch first. 

Meatball Sub Casserole

Ingredients:

For The Meatballs

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup chopped green onion
• 1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

For The Casserole

• 5 oz bag of Italian Style Croutons
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 2.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, divided
• 1 (28 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 1/4 cup water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Mix ground beef, green onion, bread crumbs, and Parmesan cheese together in a bowl; form into 1-inch meatballs. Arrange meatballs in a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until done.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
4. Pour the croutons into the bottom of a 13x9 casserole dish. Combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and red pepper in a bowl;
5. Spoon mixture over croutons.
6. Combine the Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and sprinkle half over cream cheese mixture.
7. Combine spaghetti sauce and water in a bowl. Add meatballs. Pour meatballs and sauce over the top of casserole and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
8. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven until cheese is melted and bubbling, about 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving and ENJOY!

Classic Italian Pasta Salad

(Serves 12)

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 ounce) package fusilli or rotini pasta
• 3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• ½ pound provolone cheese, cubed
• ½ pound sliced pepperoni, cut in half
• 1 large green bell pepper, diced
• 1 (10 ounce) can black olives, drained
• ¼ teaspoon white sugar
• 1 (8 ounce) bottle good quality Italian salad dressing

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Add pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente.
3. Drain, and rinse with cold water. Pat the noodles dry with a clean dish or paper towels to get some of the water off.
4. In a large bowl, combine pasta with tomatoes, cheese, pepperoni, green pepper, olives and sugar.
5. Pour in salad dressing, and toss to coat.
6. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours for flavors to come together before serving. If letting sit overnight, you may need some more Italian dressing added before serving because the pasta will soak it up.