Meatball & Noodle Casserole

So, I accidentally left the meatballs out of the freezer long enough to thaw completely the other day, so I stuck them in the fridge not wanting to re-freeze them.  (Can you re-freeze cooked meat?)  So I had to use the meatballs, so I tried to think of something I could make with them.  I looked up some 'meatball casseroles' but couldn't find anything that used already made meatballs.  So I decided to just to wing it on my own. (I do that a lot... luckily, somehow my mom's skill of it rubbed off on me and I'm pretty good at it.)  So here's what I came up with, using the rest of the pasta sauce in the fridge and some mozzarella I had on hand from the week before, that also needed to be used.  Since I 'winged it' I really don't know about measurements... use your best judgment and what looks right.  I'll estimate, but use those exact measurements at your own discretion.

Since I made it up, I had no idea how it would turn out, but my family GOBBLED it up!  Both my kids (ages 2 & 4) loved it, and my husband actually put it on the same level as his two all-time favorite meals I make!  I couldn't believe it.  He ate the leftovers every day for the next two days and loved it. Pretty simple meal, but a HUGE hit!  Gotta love that!

Ingredients:

• Pasta - probably about 2 C uncooked - I used some tri-color (probably vegetable) fusilli I had
• Pasta sauce - our favorite brand is Safeway, although I've started shopping differently and probably won't be buying it anymore.  The flavor was artichoke pesto.  I used a jar and about a half cup of what I had left in the fridge.
• Meatballs - as many as you like - I probably had about 10-15 in the bag still - frozen meatballs
• Mozerella cheese - probably about 2 C
• Bread crumbs - I used homemade ones I had, but any would work

Process:

1. Cook pasta an put in 3 qt. casserole
2. Warm and add meatballs, dispersing as desired
3. Cover with pasta sauce
4. Cover with shredded mozerella
5. Top with bread crumbs
6. Bake till heated through - probably about 30 min. at 350 degrees.

Happy Eating!