Baked Penne and Meatballs

This is a great comfort food that is easy to make.  It is also very easy to double or triple and freeze.  The amount of ingredients below made enough for two pans to freeze (that will feed 4 each if you have other sides with the meal) and one pan that fed two.  There were some ingredients that I would have loved to use that I didn't have so I had to do some improvising.  But, the beauty of having a stocked pantry and freezer is you can make anything with what you have.



I took pictures of many of the steps, but this morning I couldn't find the cord to hook my camera up to my computer.  When I find it, I will update this post with yummy pictures.



16 oz. whole grain penne pasta

2 lbs. ground beef

2 c. homemade bread crumbs

3 eggs

2 T. Italian seasoning

1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1 28 oz. can pureed tomatoes

2 c. homemade marinara sauce

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

2-3 c. shredded cheese (I used a combo of Provolone and Mozzarella)

1/2 c. fresh basil chopped



Heat oven to 400.  Line a baking sheet with foil. 



In a large bowl mix together beef, bread crumbs, eggs, Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese.  Shape into golf ball sized meatballs (I got 36 out of this).  Place meatballs on lined baking sheet.



Place meatballs in the the oven and bake for approximately 25 minutes, until cooked through and browned.



While meatballs are cooking, cook pasta according to package direction but for 1 minute less than recommended for al dente (about 6 minutes).



Heat up pasta sauce and canned tomatoes.  Stir in garlic and onion powder (and any other spice you like).



Coat a baking dish (or 3 like I did) with non-stick cooking spray. **To freeze, line pan with foil and coat foil with cooking spray.**  Add pasta, meatballs, sauce, basil and 1/2 c. of the cheese.  Top with additional 1/4-1/2 c. of cheese.  **To freeze, fold foil over the top of the dish and freeze. Once frozen, remove from dish and wrap with additional foil.  Write cooking directions on the foil.**



Bake at 400 uncovered for 20-25 minutes until bubbly.



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