Baked Ziti and Meatball Casserole
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Total Time:
Ingredients:
| 1 (16-ounce) package | ziti pasta, substitute penne pasta |
| 4 cups | tomato sauce |
| 1 | large egg |
| 1 (15-ounce) container | part-skim ricotta cheese |
| 2 tablespoons | parmesan cheese, grated |
| 1 tablespoon | fresh parsley, chopped |
| 1/2 teaspoon | salt |
| 1/4 teaspoon | . fresh coarse ground black pepper |
| 12 | lean meatballs, thawed and sliced |
| 1 cup | part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded |
Directions:
1 In saucepot, prepare pasta as label directs in boiling salted water, drain. Return pasta to saucepot.
2 Meanwhile, in 3-quart saucepan, heat tomato sauce, covered, until hot over medium-low heat. (If tomato sauce is frozen, add 2 tablespoons water to saucepan to prevent sorching). Add 3 cups sauce to pasta in saucepot, toss well. Reserve remaining 1 cup sauce.
3 In medium bowl, stir together egg, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper.
4 Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Into 3 1/2- to 4-quart shallow casserole or 13-inch by 9-inch glass baking dish, spoon half the pasta mixture, top with all the sliced meatballs. Drop ricotta-cheese mixture by spoonfuls evenly over meatball layer. Spoon remaining pasta mixture over ricotta-cheese layer, then spoon remaining 1 cup sauce over pasta. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese.
5 Bake, uncovered, 60 minutes or until very hot and cheese browns slightly.
Source: food.com
