If you know me well, you know that I’m not the world’s greatest cook. I rarely have a meal that is blog post worthy and I’m not a personal fan of spending alot of time in the kitchen whether that is cooking or cleaning.  But, I have been working to find easy recipes that taste good and don’t require a culinary degree.  This easy copycat timballo is a new family favorite!

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Easy Copycat Timballo for Dinner

On a recent family visit to a local Mexican restaurant, my daughter ordered timballo. This was something new that we had never tried. After passing around a bite, we decided that this was something we should try at home. So we did some searching online and found that other people have tried to recreate this popular dish at home. I took inspiration from the internet and did a little tweaking to create my own version of Timballo. The great thing about this recipe is that you can customize it to fit your own taste.

Ingredients

• Meat (take your pick – sausage, shrimp, chicken, bacon, pepperoni)
• Green pepper
• Red pepper
• Onion
• Mushrooms
• Black Olives
• Basil & Thyme (to taste)
• Salt & Pepper (to taste)
• Spaghetti Sauce
• Spaghetti Noodles
• Parmesan Cheese
• Mozarella Cheese

Directions

• Brown the meat
• In seperate pan, combine mushrooms, peppers, onion and olives, bit of basil & thyme and cook till soft
• Cook spaghetti. Break noodles into smaller pieces for this recipe. It makes it easier to eat.
• Add cups of spaghetti noodles & sauce to your meat mixture
• Layer mozarella cheese, meat & noodles mixture and vegetables in cast iron skillet
• Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes till hot all the way through and sauce is bubbly on edges
• Top with parmesan cheese and serve hot

This recipe made more than we could eat in one meal which is perfect! I froze individually sized portions so I can enjoy for lunch in the coming days. Just portion them into small freezer safe containers and save for another day.

Want to get fancy for your family and guests? You could create personal size Timballo for each person using individual size cast iron skillets! Talk about really recreating the restaurant experience! But you might want to invest in these Cast iron skillet handle covers so you don’t burn your hands!

Got a great recipe I might enjoy trying? I’d love to hear from you! Have you ever tried Timballo? Is it a family favorite?