Meatball Macaroni Bake

Total Time: 35 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 lb extra lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino cheese or 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped (use less garlic, if you want, i like a lot)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (you may need more)
• 1 (25 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce (or homemade, a really chunky one is best)
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese or 2 cups monterey jack cheese, grated
• 1/4-1/2 cup parmesan cheese or 1/4-1/2 cup pecorino cheese, grated
• 1 lb uncooked large macaroni or 1 lb rigatoni pasta

Recipe

• 1 heat oven to 350.
• 2 for the meatballs, mix first 7 ingredients in a large bowl thoroughly with your hands. form into balls, i usually make rather large ones but the size is up to you, although the bigger ones come out more moist.
• 3 boil a large pot of well salted water and add pasta when boiling, cook to just almost al dente, then drain.
• 4 heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat, add onion and garlic and cook untill soft. do not stir too much, just give it a shake every couple minutes.
• 5 add meatballs to pan and turn up heat to med high and brown on all sides.
• 6 add spaghetti sauce to pan to cover meatballs. add a little pasta water to thin out, if needed. turn heat back to medium or medium-low and simmer untill meatballs are mostly cooked through.
• 7 add pasta to a large casserole or baking dish, pour meatballs and sauce over pasta and mix slightly to make sure everything is mixed and coated with sauce. keeping the meatballs down more on the bottom makes them come out more moist.
• 8 spinkle cheeses evenly over the top and bake for about 15 minutes, or untill cheese is melted and meatballs are done.