Meatball Lasagna

So what can be better than meatballs and lasagna and the two together, oh so yummy!!! I found this recipe in Easy Family Food by Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications. I just happened upon this at Lowes of all places and it is chocked full of fantastic recipes. But of course I improvised when I made it, like I do with everything these days.

Prep: 25 min
Bake: 45 min
Stand: 15 min


9 dried lasagna noodles

1/2 of a 15 oz container of ricotta cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (6 oz)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
(I really am not sure how much each cheese I actually used, alot more than it calls for,
but I Love cheese and I also added an egg like all the other lasagnas that make ask for)

1 16 ounce package frozen cooked Italian-style meatballs

1 16 ounce jar tomato pasta sauce

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain noodles; rinse with cold water. Drain well; set aside.

2. In a small bowl, stir together ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella cheese,and the parmesan cheese; set aside (like I said before, I am pretty sure I used alot more cheese than that, so do what you feel like you would like, plus I added an egg to make the cheese mixture set up when it baked.) In a medium bowl, stir together meatballs and one-third (about 1 cup) of the pasta sauce; set aside.

3. To assemble, spread a small amount of the reserved sauce over bottom of a 2 quart square baking dish (I have a rectangular 2 quart pyrex that I used, not my 13x9 pyrex though). Layer three cooked noodles in the dish. Spoon meatball mixture over noodles (At this point since I had so much extra cheesey mixture I put a layer of cheese down, but that is up to you it is not in the recipe). Layer three more noodles over meatballs. Spread half of the remaining sauce over the noodles. Spoon ricotta mixture over sauce and spread evenly. Top with remaining noodles and remaining sauce.

4. Cover dish with foil. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese over lasagna. Bake, uncovered, about 10 minutes more or until cheese melts. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Makes 8-9 servings