Meatball Veggie Casserole

October 27, 2017

Plan Z Phase: This is a Z3.5 (ZReboot 3.5) recipe.

On a busy night, this comes together in a flash. Then just bake it. Kids will love it too. It’s got plenty of flavor without adding a bunch of spices.

Other notes: This can really be made with just about any veggies you have in the fridge. Other ideas include bell peppers, onions, broccoli and more.

Servings: Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 cup of uncooked pasta. I used little penne. This is not much pasta spread over six servings. You just need enough to cover the bottom of a 9”X9” ovenproof casserole. If you use spaghetti, just break it into pieces so it will fit.
1 small jar of pasta sauce. Marinara. Find one with no sugar. They do exist. You only need about 1.5 cups. (If you don’t want red sauce you could really use just about any pasta sauce) I use a sauce called Passata because it comes in a small jar and I don’t have any leftovers that way. It’s a chunky tomato sauce found by the other pasta sauces.
1 cup of water
5 medium-sized meatballs. I get the ones they have in the deli at my store. I know they are freshly made and already have some sauce on them. If you can’t get fresh ones you can use thawed, previously frozen ones. Those are usually smaller. I cut my five meatballs into bite-size chunks. About 40 total.
1 8” zucchini, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 cup of chopped button mushrooms. I get the sliced ones and then just randomly cut them up
2 cups of shredded mozzarella/provolone mixture
½ cup of shredded Parmesan

Instructions:

Put the pasta in the bottom of the ovenproof pan. Pour the water over. Then pile in the veggies and the meatball pieces. Pour the sauce on top. Cover the casserole with aluminum foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Take it out and stir it up. Make sure the pasta is done to your liking. If it not done, put back for a few minutes.

When you take it out, sprinkle on the mozzarella and the Parmesan and put it back in for 10 minutes and you’re ready to serve. You might want to let it rest for a few minutes so you don’t burn your mouth.

Enjoy!

Cheers,