Meatball Casserole

I have made this recipe and found that our family sauce is MUCH better. Here is my sauce recipe if you choose to use it, make the recipe the same except don’t use the jar of tomato paste sauce, Italian tomato sauce, and meatballs.

The night before or at least 8 hours before:

1 pound sweet Italian sausage

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 cup minced onion

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste

2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 tablespoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Transfer to your Crock Pot.

For the Meatballs:

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 1/4 cups Italian seasoned bread

crumbs

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 egg, beaten

In a bowl, mix the ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, garlic, onion, and egg. Shape the mixture into 16 meatballs. Cook 8-10 hours

16 ounces dried ziti or penne pasta
1 26-ounce jar tomato pasta sauce
1 16-ounce package Italian-style frozen cooked meatballs (32), thawed
1 15-ounce can Italian-style tomato sauce
1 15-ounce carton ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Return to pan. Stir in pasta sauce, meatballs, and tomato sauce. Transfer to an ungreased 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish or 3-quart rectangular casserole. Bake, covered, in a 350 degrees F oven for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine ricotta cheese and Parmesan cheese. Uncover pasta mixture and spoon ricotta mixture in mounds over pasta mixture. Cover loosely; bake about 10 minutes more or until heated through. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake, uncovered, for 5 minutes more. Makes 8 to 10 servings.