Baked Rigatoni with Meatballs

Boo's pick for this week did not disappoint!  He searched for meatballs on bigoven.com because I told him they were my favorite (sweet, huh?).  The recipe says it makes 4 servings- WAAAY too much food.  We figured for 8 servings.  Ends up being 432 calories per serving.  Served with a side salad and you've got a complete meal!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion; chopped
2 garlic cloves; minced
3 cup mushrooms; sliced
1 green bell pepper; chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon basil; dried
1 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
28 ounce tomatoes; chopped (we used 1 can diced and 3 Romas chopped)
2 tablespoon tomato paste
3 1/2 cup rigatoni
1 1/3 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese; shredded
1/4 cup parmesan cheese; freshly grated

Meatballs:
1 egg
1/3 cup onions; finely chopped
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
2 garlic cloves; minced
3 tablespoon parmesan cheese; freshly grated
1 teaspoon oregano; dried
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 pound ground beef


Meatballs:
In bowl, beat egg lightly; mix in onion, crumbs, garlic, Parmesan, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix in ground beef. Shape heaping tablespoonfuls into balls.

In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; cook meatballs, in batches if necessary, for 8-10 minutes or until browned on all sides. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate.

Add onion, garlic, mushrooms, green pepper, basil, sugar, oregano, salt, pepper and 2 tb water to skillet; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are softened.

Stir in tomatoes and tomato paste; bring to boil.

Add meatballs; reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Meanwhile, in large pot of boiling salted water, cook rigatoni for about 8 minutes or until pasta is tender but firm. Drain and return to pot; add tomato sauce, stirring to coat rigatoni.

Transfer to 9x13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle part-skim mozzarella, then Parmesan evenly over top.  (The recipe called for an 11x7 dish, but it was a bit too small so we had some spillage.)

Bake in 400F oven for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and top is golden.  (Next time, we'll probably go 15-17 minutes in the oven.  20 minutes left the cheese too crispy this time.)

The recipe says it takes an hour and 20 minutes; it took us about 2 hours...granted, we were drinking and dancing and taking breaks for the pups to play in the yard!  Lots of fun and easy to cook together, too.  Boo worked meatballs while I took care of the sauce.  This is definitely a recipe that we'll make again.