This Cheesy Italian Meatball Penne Bake has become one of my family’s favorite dinners. Owen thinks meatballs are the coolest thing. He sticks them with his fork and shoves the whole thing in his mouth at once. And Miles can eat more of it than his big brother. The kid loves the stuff. And my husband, well, he can just about eat the entire pan. What man doesn’t love meatballs? Can you guess what I love about it? The cheese! It’s fully loaded with cheese and I love it.
The one hang up with this dish? It’s a mess of a dinner. My boys are a mess , the pan’s a mess, even the oven is a mess. A messy oven is my worst nightmare! When was the last time you cleaned YOUR oven?
I refuse to answer…
I’ll be honest, cleaning the oven isn’t at the top of my priority list. In fact, one of my least favorite things about being a food blogger is the absurd amount of dishes I wash and the number of times I clean my kitchen in a day. So adding the oven to the list sometimes slips my mind. I’m typically the clean as you go type and like to have the dinner mess cleaned up right after dinner. But the second my kids’ plates are clean they are ready to play. We try to do something together as a family in the evenings, whether it’s just playing together with toys or walking to the park. Clean up either has to be really quick or just has to wait. As much as I want my kitchen clean I’d much rather spend time playing with my family.
Which is exactly why my oven has been neglected. Doesn’t an oven take hours to clean? (It really has been that long for me)
The solution? The LG EasyClean™ Double Oven Range. Have you heard about it?
LG’s EasyClean™’ mottos is: A Clean Oven in Minutes, Not Hours. (Just what I need!)
Not enough time to clean your oven? (no, never!) No worries. LG brings you the new generation of oven cleaning with EasyClean™. All LG double oven ranges provide a quick and convenient way to clean your oven, while still being able to use the conventional self-clean method. EasyClean works in three simple steps. Spray the oven interior with water, press the EasyClean button, then in just 20 minutes, wipe away any residual bits of grime*. No chemicals or high heat needed to keep your oven sparkling clean. (*Heavy build-up may require additional manual effort or use of the full self-clean feature). To learn more about LG EasyClean click here.
A clean oven in 20 minutes? Now that I could make time for! Especially after a messy meal that bubbles and splatters all over the oven.
That is of course after I clean up my messy kids….
What is YOUR family’s favorite meal that leaves your oven messy? Leave a comment telling me for a Chance to Win an LG EasyClean™ Double Oven Range!
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- 1 1/2 lbs extra lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- 1/2 tsp onion salt
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 2 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 (13.2 oz) box of whole grain Penne pasta
- 4-5 cups marinara sauce (2 1/2 24oz jars)
- 1 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese (1/4 cup reserved)
- 1 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- salt & pepper to taste
- Preheat oven to 350.
- In a large mixing bowl combine ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, and seasonings. Mix with clean hands until well incorporated.
- Form golf ball sized (1-inch) meatballs and place on a lightly greased one-inch deep baking sheet (it’s better to use a baking sheet with an edge). Bake for 20-30 minutes turning once half way through (cook until no longer pink in the middle). Set meatballs aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Stir in penne pasta and boil for 9-10 minutes or until al dente.
- Drain pasta and pour into a large bowl. Gently toss pasta, 1 cup of each mozzarella and parmasen cheese, four cups of marinara sauce, and meatballs together.
- Pour into a greased 9X13 inch pan. Top with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella and parmesan cheese and cover with foil. Bake for 20-25 minutes covered, then remove the foil and finish cooking for another 5-10 minutes, until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.
We make nachos and sometimes pieces fall off in the oven.
Baked macaroni & cheese!
My lasagna sometimes spills over and that is brutal to scrape off!
Mmmm! This sounds so good! I love, love penne pasta bakes!
Turkey. It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without clouds of smoke wafting across the dining room table.
lasagna
The meal I make that leaves my oven messiest? Either Meatloaf (all that grease! YUCK!) or pizza (ooey gooey cheesy goodness!). I’m sure there’s something else, but it’s not on my “all the time” menu and I”m just not thinking about it.
I try to keep it cleaner by putting my meatloaf pans on cookie sheets, but sometimes I just have to have that extra fatty stuff (rarely, but still) and it spills when I take it out anyway.
Twitter Entry: https://twitter.com/StevieLuplow/status/341790072212955138
When I make homemade pizza I use cornmeal and that usually gets all over the place including the oven.
I tweeted! https://twitter.com/katiemur80/status/341898344559423488
This looks so delicious – I pinned it!
Orange chicken makes my oven messy.
Lasagna or enchiladas always bubble over for me!
lasagna! Totally tears up my oven, but SO worth it…
Whenever I make an apple pie, I overfill it. It always leaves my oven a huge mess. It tastes so delicious that I never want to reduce the apples!
Does apple pie count as a meal?
Anything I make like mac & Cheese, Lasagne, and Pizza if I cook directly on rack….ugh the clean Up. I Hate It…lol
Love lasagne-with LOTS of cheese and sauce-which bubbles out.
The standing-rib roast we have every Christmas! Whoa, it makes a mess but is so delish!
Spaghetti & Meatballs casserole!!! Messy oven, messy happy children!
pizza
When I make my pumpkin bread, even if I skimp on the ingredients, it always explodes or overflows in the oven! Stinky, stinky oven.
Thank you, Kristy. Sounds really good and easy too.
When i make Chicken Pot Pie it almost always overflows and i have to put a pan under it.
Lasagna is our messiest entree as well!
Chicken pot pie and lasagna are the worst for me! They always boil over.
I tweeted- https://twitter.com/CariCatherine/status/342004684975915009
Pizza tends to make a mess in our oven, and I’ve had pies overflow, too. Such a pain trying to get baked on cheese or sugar off of the oven! Of course, the worst was the time that my not-Pyrex pie plate exploded (literally) all over the oven when I was making quiche. Ai yi yi!
Your pasta bake looks delish!
(forgive me if this double-posts; it said “error” when I tried the first time)
Our favorite messy meal is cheesy meatloaf with twice baked potatoes. Thanks for the chance to win.
My family loves chicken pot pie, but the filling always oozes out and drips onto the bottom of the oven!
I tweeted https://twitter.com/TheSassyMom09/status/342013274650468352
Pizza on the stone
I’m making this recipe this week! Looks delish. Pies make my oven a mess… I always think this time it won’t overflow so I forget to put a cookie sheet underneath.
I adore my double oven but I’d sell it if I could get one that self-cleans in less time.
Thanks!
My mile high apple pie tends to spill over!
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 04/06
my bbq pulled pork
My hubby likes to make jerky in the oven. Really messy because he hangs it from the racks and it drips.
We are suckers for bacon in the oven, it makes it soo good,but makes the oven soo dirty!
I tweeted too https://twitter.com/jessrwarfield/status/342064348308594688
I need it for the pizzas we make , . Good luck to all
oooh – so many but my grandmother’s capirotada and enchiladas! yummy!
tvollowitz at aol dot com
Whenever we make homemade pizza talk about an oven catastrophe! The cheese always bubbles over and burns on the bottom!
pizza always makes my oven messy!
You know, you can (should) involve the kids, no matter how young they are, in cleaning up the dishes … not just dinner, but any meal. If you do it right, they think of it as part of the play after dinner. As for what makes the oven dirty, apple pie when I overdo the apples. It bubbles over … drip, drip, drip.
Couldn’t ya line the bottom of the oven with tin foil.
Looks so yummy! My baked lasagna always seems to spill over! Talk about a huge sauce mess!
Tweeted!
Maggie @maggie_wallace7 4m
Enter for a Chance to Win an LG EasyClean Double Oven Range!! http://s.shr.lc/14rVPMm #SweepstakesEntry
It never fails with Lasagna
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 05/06
This is comfort food at its BEST! Absolutely scrumptious recipe, Kristy. I love it!
Not a main dish, but cherry, apple or berry pies always seem to spill over and leave a baked-on mess
Always lasagna and blueberry pie
Homemade pizza ALWAYS makes a mess!!
Pizza
The recipe that leaves my oven messy is my enchiladas! I stuff the baking dishes full and use lots of cheese and sauce which, even if I cover them, tends to bubble and slosh over the edge when I pull them out 🙂
Tweeted – https://twitter.com/Enter_Now/status/342556819719331840
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 06/06
I make a high-roasted chicken dish that really makes a mess of the oven, thanks in part to the fact that you bake it at 500 degrees!
tweet: https://twitter.com/sharonjo2/status/342849810791026689
On the stovetop chili splatters sometims and in the oven it’s baked Lasagna that makes the biggest mess!
Lasagne! It always overflows.
Tweeted – https://twitter.com/lbandj/status/343158352660029440
One of our faves is mac and cheese, and it almost always bubbles over!
Turkey eggplant casserole
Frankly, I have a few in my repertoire that make me cringe when I think of the clean-up. Like you it’s the tomato based dishes with the sputtering and spitting (in my case a Lasagna) that really make a mess
And a Tweet!: https://twitter.com/AnnaZed/status/343498361653039105
twitted this today, 08/06
My pies always boil over and the filling burns when it drips.
Lasagna! The classic boil over!
tweet: https://twitter.com/myfolly/status/343942968673202176
cherry pie
https://twitter.com/sweetums82/status/344068720555069440
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 10/06
DEFNITELY MAKING THIS!!!!!
I tend to be a very messy baker, so typically anything I bake will end up leaving a mark on my oven. Typically it is something difficult to get off, like cheese, pie filling or chocolate.
Enchilada casserole gets pretty messy while it bakes!
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 11/06
Chicken Pot Pies always make a mess!
Tweet: https://twitter.com/OneFrugalGirl/status/344634348479336448
Cooking a turkey in the oven always spatters everywhere!
Spaghetti with a meat sauce
chicken pot pies, twitted this tdoay, 13/06
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 14/06
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 15/06
pizza can make a bit of a mess sometimes
I think may family would love the recipe you mentioned above! Can’t wait to try it out
tweet link:
https://twitter.com/bellows22/status/346299074418454528
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 16/06
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 17/06
Cheese and meatballs are my families favorite in any dish!!! Thank you for the opportunity to win! Fingers crossed…really need this.
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 18/06
Pizza
My easy answer is anything that my kids attempt to make 🙂 but mine is a chicken pastini recipe that my mother gave me years ago. My kids ask for it at least once a week!
Chicken cheese enchiladas
Tweeted: https://twitter.com/rosannepm/status/347213573430329344
Mississippi Mud!
Tweet!
https://twitter.com/KaizenFashion/status/347216354576830465
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 19/06
Tweeted: https://twitter.com/rosannepm/status/347529169325944832
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 20/06
I’m drooling over my screen, this looks so delicious! It looks so moist, the perfect pasta bake! And your baby is gorgeous!
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 21/06
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 23/06
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 24/06
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 25/06
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 26/06
Pizza tends to cause a mess in our oven. I have a bad habit of adding too much cheese; it goes over the side of the stone when it melts.
https://twitter.com/CarlyHobart/status/350174087139704832
Lasagna and other pasta recipes
TWEET https://twitter.com/um_lil_cutie/status/350410709902950400
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 27/06
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 28/06
Peach Cobblers spills over in my oven. I hate it but I don’t quit making Peach Cobblers.
I love, love penne pasta bakes and would love to win the oven.
Sometimes when I make calzones on the pizza stone and if they aren’t sealed fully, the cheese oozes out and off the stone onto the bottom of the oven to make quite the mess.
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 29/06
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 30/06
I love this recipe and my kids love anything with meatballs. This is one recipe I am trying. Thank you.
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 01/07
caramel apple pie
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 02/07
awww…hes’ adorable…not the messy oven though. My favorite recipe that leaves a mess is the Strawberry and brown butter cobbler. good…and messy for sure.
amy [at] utry [dot] it
tweeted:
https://twitter.com/uTry_it/status/352717961024376833
amy [at] utry [dot] it
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 04/07
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 05/07
Baked Hot Wings make a mess, but is healthier than fried!!
Lasagna can make a mess.
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 06/07
My meatloaf leaves a mess!
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 07/07
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 08/07
I too am a cheese lover so anything with cheese gets “extra” from me and usually ends up on the oven needing to be cleaned up.
My family’s favorite meal that leaves a mess in the oven is lasagna!
My family’s favorite meal that leaves a mess in the oven is lasagna.
Sorry for the double entry for the response!
https://twitter.com/catholicfanatic/status/355078124905578496
Link to tweet.
My family loves Chicken Pot Pie! That makes the oven quite messy when it bubbles over 🙂
Tweet – https://twitter.com/nat5732/status/355129524343685120
It never fails that my berry or peach cobblers always overflow and drip down the sides of the baking dish, making the worst sticky messes in my oven.
jslbrown_03 at yahoo dot com
tweet – https://twitter.com/LuLu_Brown24/status/355379460557647873
jslbrown_03 at yahoo dot com
my husbands homemade loaded pasta dish always leaves the stove an unreal mess. Thanks for the chance to win.
https://twitter.com/eaglesforjack/status/356237358674345985
Lasagna always seems to bubble over and make a mess in my oven.
Tweet – https://twitter.com/willitara/status/356252962454118401
Vegetarian Lasagna
https://twitter.com/disneyfan40/status/356427720898523137
We make broiled hamburgers when it is cold outside. They are tasty but messy!
Tweet- https://twitter.com/mom2boys51/status/356584754923057153
Scalloped potatoes are the worst.
ericacarnes(at)gmail(dot)com
it’s Lasagna 🙂
Lasagna Bolognese.
lasagna, so messy.
Definitely when I make cherry or apple pies! What a mess!
i like to bake a breakfast casserole and it’s really messy
Mexican Burritos leave mt oven ib a mess.
My chicken pot pie is amazing but almost always boils over!!!
rachelmarietravis at gmail dot com
Baked spaghetti is a messy but tasty favorite.
Cherry pie always seems to bubble over and make a mess, but I’m going to make it this week anyway.
Zucchini Lasagna is my favorite recipe to mess my oven up.
chicken pot pies, twitted this today, 15/07
Scalloed Potatos and Ham Casserole. It never fails to boil over
Help!! Could I use my own homemade spaghetti sauce instead of the canned sauce??
Pizza, lasagna… And baking! Baked mochi, pumpkin pie (always sloshes over), corn bread… The list goes on and on!
this recipe is delicious, thanks for sharing. I’m always looking for new recipes to try 🙂
Simon