There’s nothing more fun than bringing the kiddos in the kitchen. You never know what they will come up with. Especially when the kiddos really WANT to be in the kitchen. My 14-year old step son Kris loves to cook. In fact, he took a career placement test and the results said the kitchen was exactly where he needed to be. His top career path was a chef! Kris is also an up and coming cross country running star like his dad, so they work off every ounce they eat. What a great combination…the Cross Country Chef!

When I married Hass, I knew I had married the right family when I realized his sons could eat as much as I could cook. THAT is amazing, because you KNOW I can cook, but they sure can EAT! Devin and Kris, coupled with my daughter and two grandsons can sure clean out a kitchen! My perfect family 🙂

This weekend it was a relief to have help and an extra pair of hands in the kitchen. Kris and I have a lot in common when it comes to food. We both love pasta, fresh vegetables and bread. So we decided to make a Garlic Bread Pasta Bowl.

I don’t let many people in my kitchen. But this kid’s pretty good. Welcome to Kris’ Cross Country Kitchen and pasta bread bowl y’all!

Garlic Bread Pasta Bowl

Ingredients:

1 box dry pasta, prepared – we used elbow macaroni (ziti also works really well.)

1 jar marinara sauce or your favorite homemade recipe

1 lb. ground sirloin, chicken or turkey

1 diced onion

1 diced bell pepper

1 container sliced mushrooms

1 block grated mozzarella cheese

1/2 loaf bread, crusts removed (Reserve crusts to make croutons for your salad)

1/2 stick melted butter

2 tbsp. garlic

1 tbsp. fresh basil chopped

1 tbsp. dry Italian Seasonings

Salt & Pepper to Taste

   

 

Directions:

Brown meat in  skillet with onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, salt, pepper and dry seasonings. Drain and mix in marinara sauce. In a large bowl, mix sauce mixture with noodles, Basil and cheese (reserving some cheese for the top of casserole) and set aside.

Grease the sides of a spring form pan. Brush slices of bread with melted butter and sprinkle with garlic powder. Place on the bottom and sides of the spring form cutting bread as needed to form a nice, well covered fit. Pour noodle mixture into bread bowl, top with reserved cheese and and bake at 400 until cheese has melted and the top is golden brown.

As we have big eaters, we also made a bowl of chicken alfredo with bow ties.

I like help. Sometimes. 😉 Bon appetit y’all!