We are only 6 months away from October. Why is that a big deal? Because it means that we are 180 days out from our trip to Walt Disney World and we can make start making our dining reservations. We are so excited about this trip since it will be Olivia and Evie’s first time to Walt Disney World. This year, we are going on vacation with my in-laws and also our good friends who we have been to Disney World with before.
Don’t you just love that perfectly imperfect picture of us at Walt Disney World? I can’t wait to recreate it with the addition of my two new little ones! So since we are so close to being able to plan everything out for our upcoming trip, we had our friends over for a fun planning session and dinner party, thanks to Ragú!
I am a HUGE lover of Italian food and we make a dish featuring Ragú weekly, but for this dinner party, I decided to put a spin on some classic recipes – it’s a new Tra-Dish!
On my menu was some easy appetizers – cheese, pancetta and a mix of olives and feta cheese. These went over really well and was a delicious starter to our night.
Next up was the main dishes – Chicken Parmesan Bites and Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups, served with Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce . For the kids, I was making Mickey Pizza featuring Ragú® Homemade Style Pizza Sauce.
Luckily, I had the best helper in the kitchen – my 6 year old son, Hayden! He loved helping me put together the dishes and his favorite was to sprinkle all the cheese on. In our household, the more cheese, the better!
Chicken Parmesan Bites
Ingredients
– 1 pound Ground Chicken
– 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
– 1 tablespoon Minced Garlic
– 1 1/2 cups of Panko
– 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
– 12 small Mozzarella Balls
– 1/2 cup of Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce
Instructions
– Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
– Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a small skillet and saute minced garlic for one minute.
– Mix together ground chicken, 1/4 cup Panko and Italian seasoning in a large bowl.
– Carefully cover two Mozzarella balls evenly with the ground chicken mixture.
– Roll each ball in remaining 1 cup Panko until completely covered.
– Places balls in a baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.
– Place a toothpick in each bite and serve alongside Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce
The Chicken Parmesan Bites were SO delicious and a fun spin on traditional Chicken Parmesan. I loved being able to dip the bites into the Ragú and they were a hit with everyone!
Next up was the Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups, a spin on traditional lasagna. Our friend Dave is a vegetarian so I wanted to make sure that I served up something he could enjoy since he missed out on the delicious Chicken Parm Bites! 🙂 Again, these are super easy to make and oh so good!
Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups
Ingredients
– 8 whole wheat lasagna noodles, cooked
– 10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, cooked and completely drained {use paper towels to get all the juice out!}
– 15 ounces ricotta cheese
– 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
– 1 egg
– salt and pepper
– Jar of Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce
– 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
– Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large pot, boil lasagna noodles according to directions.
– Combine spinach, ricotta cheese, egg, Parmesan, salt and pepper in large bowl.
– Once noodles are dry and cool, spread the ricotta mixture evenly on each noodle.
– Roll up carefully and place seam down in a baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.
– Pour Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce over noodles and top with shredded cheese.
– Bake for 40 minutes.
We make the Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups almost weekly, but our friends had never had them before. He declared that it tasted just like something from a restaurant and I will take that as a MAJOR compliment!
My kiddo is a picky eater and not a big fan of pasta {unless it’s Mac and Cheese} so I made him and his friend Mickey Pizza with Ragú® Homemade Style Pizza Sauce.
We had such a great time enjoying this delicious dinner and talking about our upcoming vacation plans. Spending time with them made me even more excited about our trip and I am literally counting down the days – only 176 days left!
Ragú Better and Better Sweepstakes
Make sure to enter the Ragú Better and Better Sweepstakes for a chance to win great Authentic Italian themed prizes, including a grand prize trip to Italy for a family of four at www.RaguSweeps.com!
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Legal residents of the 50 United States (D.C.) 18 years and older. Ends 5/6/14. To enter and for Official Rules, including odds, alternate method of entry, and prize descriptions, visit www.RaguSweeps.com. Void where prohibited.
I’d love to hear…what dishes are a tradition in your family?
Disclosure: I was provided with a gift card. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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Family Dinners with RAGU® #NewTraDish
Lets see now, there are quite a few but my favorite would have to be an Indian spiced rice with meat/chicken
Those bites looks delicious. I wish we had a family tradition. I guess it’s not too late to start one. We like to try and have our family over for Sunday dinners, but doesn’t happen ever week. Great photo of you all at Disney.
You can make so many great dishes with Ragu! I love using their sauces! Great photo of you and the family at Disney World. I love taking a trip down there.
We love traditional chicken parm, but love the idea of making them into bites. May have to try this!
Those chicken parm bites sound awesome and I know they would go like hotcakes in my house!! Awesome recipe.
I love the chicken parm bites! And I’ll do the lasagna roll-ups, minus the spanch!
Those chicken parm bites look so yummy! I love things you can dip!
Those Mickey pizzas are adorable! However, those chicken parm bits sound soooooo good! I really want to try those.
That’s fun that you’re counting down the days. A Disney vacation is very exciting!
The spinach lasagna rolls look mighty tasty!
Those Chicken Parm Bites look so good! Love your family photos by the way, especially the top one at Disney!
Your recipes look amazing! I can’t wait until we go to Disneyland this year with the kids! So exciting and fun.
I’m known for my veggie lasagne and spinach pie. They are dishes my family expects at big family dinners!
Those lasagna roll ups look so tasty. And, who can resist a Mickey pepperoni pizza?
The Chicken Parmesan Bites sound so yummy! Very similar to something I make that we love!
Those spinach lasagna roll-ups look so good! I could go for one right now!
Being 180 days from Disney is definitely a reason to celebrate! I’m going to try making those chicken parmesan bites – looks tasty!
The spinach lasagna roll-ups sound especially yummy!
Great recipes! Everything looks so delicious. I love that Disney picture of the family. Very nice
I would love to try those spinach roll ups! Great recipes!
Chicken Parm Bites look fantastic! Can’t wait to hear about your next Disney trip
My kids love my spaghetti. I guess that’s a tradition. They get so excited when they ask what’s for dinner and I respond with spaghetti.
I like the meatballs! I love the photos of your family!
Yum! This is right up my alley! The Chicken Parm Bites look awesome!
Oh yum, those bites dipped in a bit of sauce would be delish! Thanks for the awesome recipe.
Oh my!! These look so good, I am going to have to try my hand at them.
Oh YUM! It all looks so delicious! Now I’m more hungry than I already was. I would love to try these recipes.
How exciting!! My kids want to go to Disney World so bad!!
Yum. They sound fantastic. I don’t really have any family food traditions. Except for holidays
What a fun picture you have! I hope your trip will be wonderful and your little ones will enjoy it!
Oh yum- I’m a big fan of Ragu products and I love pasta. These dishes look amazing
Yum! All of the recipes sound good. I would love the Chicken Parmesan bites the most.
The parm bites look the best! I would definitely make these for a party.
so many great dishes,my favorite would be Chicken Parm Bites,looks so delicious.
There is something magical about making these into bite size! They look soooo good, I want to try making both the chicken parm bites and the spinach lasagna roll ups!! Oh boy! And I can see they will be a huge hit!!