i know i’m not alone in the never-ending quest to find more than two kid-friendly recipes that my whole family can eat. (can i get an amen?) i made it one of my life’s missions a year ago to stop making three different dinners, and to get my boys to eat more balanced meals (most of the time). and, anytime i find something that i think might work, i’ll try it + see what the verdict is from the boys.

well, this past monday, we had a winner! i belong to an amazing facebook group called melanie’s mess hall, where we share recipes + ideas for easy dinners. and, this past weekend (just as i was making my grocery list), i saw a dinner recipe that i knew would win. and, i needed something good to make for mr. re-nest’s birthday, so it was a win-win!

so, what was it? it’s called meatball sub bake. the recipe was shared in my facebook group, but came from tasty. it was seriously easy to make, and seriously good. and, i got the coveted thumbs up plus a “this. is. a. noah. favorite.” (no joke, when he loves something, he says just that. even with the dramatic pauses. and, it makes me want to jump out of my seat when he says it!) 

now, i wouldn’t be me if i didn’t make a couple of adjustments….to add some more veggies + to use turkey instead of red meat. it’s super easy to watch the video at the link above, or i’ll of course share how i made it here:

ingredients:

1. one package of pillsbury biscuits (with eight qty.)
2. one jar of marinara sauce (i use organic from aldi)
3. eight ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
4. one chopped red pepper (mixed in to the marinara sauce….my little addition to up the veggies!)
5. turkey meatballs (i used leftover once from making the sweet + spicy meatball recipe from skinnytaste the night before, and added a package of pre-made turkey meatballs)

get out a 13″ x 9″ casserole dish + open the biscuits. peel away each biscuit one at a time, and cut each biscuit into 1/8ths. lay out all of the pieces in the bottom of the dish. cover the biscuit pieces with the marinara sauce, and make sure all of the pieces are covered. place the meatballs over the marinara + biscuit pieces, then top with the shredded cheese. and, bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes (depending on how hot your oven runs!) once it comes out of the oven, let cool for five minutes, then scoop out and serve up! 

and, for us, this made a ton of leftovers, so we’re having more this week! 

tell me: did you try the meatball sub bake? what was the verdict in your house?