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1
For the marinara sauce, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
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Add the garlic and saute for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
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3
Stir in the tomatoes, sugar, basil, oregano, parsley, pepper and cheese.
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4
Rinse out the tomato can with a little water and add it to the pot of sauce.
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5
Cover and simmer over very low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
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6
Taste and adjust the seasonings.
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7
For the meatballs, preheat the oven to 450 F.
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8
In a large mixing bowl, combine the egg, breadcrumbs, milk, chopped parsley, minced garlic, onion powder, granulated garlic, pepper and Parmesan cheese.
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Stir until well mixed.
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Add the chicken and mix gently until all the ingredients are well combined.
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Form the meatball mixture into forty-four 1 meatballs.
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I use my small Pampered Chef cookie scoop for thisit makes the perfect size meatball with very little rolling.
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Also, the chicken mixture is very moist so dampening your hands will make it easier to roll the meat and not have it stick to your hands.
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Place the meatballs on a broiler pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray or on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
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Bake at 450 F for 10 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through and no longer pink in the center.
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An instant read thermometer should read 165 F. Remove the meatballs from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 350 F.
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Place the meatballs in a bowl and stir in some of the marinara saucejust enough to coat the meatballs.
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Set the bowl aside.
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Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
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Add some salt to the water, then stir in the pasta.
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Cook for 1 minute less than the instructions on the package suggests.
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22
Drain the pasta and return it to the cooking pot
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23
Add the remaining marinara sauce to the pasta and stir until the pasta is evenly coated with sauce.
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24
Place half of the pasta in a 13x9-inch baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
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25
Top the pasta with 22 meatballs, evenly spacing them over top.
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26
Sprinkle the meatballs and pasta with half of the mozzarella cheese and half of the Italian seasoning.
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Top with the remaining pasta and the rest of the meatballs.
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Scrape any marinara sauce that is in the bottom of the bowl out and drop it onto the pasta and meatballs.
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Sprinkle the remaining half of the mozzarella cheese and Italian seasoning over top.
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30
Place the baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet larger than the baking pan just in case something bubbles over.
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Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes or until everything is heated through and the cheese is melted.
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32
Remove from oven.
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Sprinkle the basil ribbons over the top of the casserole, if desired.
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Serve immediately.
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8 servings.
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36
Homemade Marinara Sauce adapted from Chef Steve Whiting, chef/instructor of Culinary Arts at Nashoba Regional Technical High School and casserole recipe slightly adapted from Buns in My Oven.
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Note: One 24 ounce jar of marinara sauce can be substituted for homemade marinara sauce.
