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Baked Rigatoni and Meatballs
Baked Rigatoni and Meatballs

Before you jump to Baked Rigatoni and Meatballs recipe, you may want to read this short interesting healthy tips about Information on How to Boost Your Mood with Food.

Many of us have been conditioned to think that comfort foods are terrible and should be avoided. Sometimes, if the comfort food is candy or some other junk food, this is very true. Otherwise, comfort foods can be really healthy and good for you. There are several foods that actually can boost your moods when you eat them. If you are feeling a little bit down and in need of an emotional pick me up, try several of these.

Make some trail mix of nuts or seeds. Peanuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, almonds, pumpkin seeds, etcetera are all great for helping to raise your mood. This is possible because these foods have a bunch of magnesium which raises your production of serotonin. Serotonin is a feel-good chemical that tells the brain how to feel at any given time. The more you have of it, the better you will feel. Nuts, on top of raising your mood, can be a super source of protein.

So you see, you don’t need to consume all that junk food when you are wanting to feel better! Go with these tips instead!

We hope you got insight from reading it, now let’s go back to baked rigatoni and meatballs recipe. You can have baked rigatoni and meatballs using 19 ingredients and 5 steps. Here is how you achieve that.

The ingredients needed to prepare Baked Rigatoni and Meatballs:
  1. Get 1 box (16 oz.) rigatoni noodles
  2. Get 2 cups ricotta cheese
  3. Prepare 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  4. Take Sauce:
  5. Provide 1 tbsp. olive oil
  6. You need 3 cloves garlic, minced
  7. You need 3 cans (8 oz.) each unsalted tomato sauce
  8. Get 1/4 cup heavy cream
  9. You need 1 tsp. each dried basil, dried parsley
  10. You need 1/2 tsp. each salt, granulated sugar, onion powder
  11. Provide 1/4 tsp. pepper
  12. You need Meatballs:
  13. Take 1 lb. ground beef
  14. Use 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
  15. Provide 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
  16. Provide 1 large egg
  17. Use 1 tsp. dried parsley
  18. Provide 1/2 tsp. each salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, basil
  19. Prepare 1 tbsp. olive oil
Instructions to make Baked Rigatoni and Meatballs:
  1. First thing to do is get your sauce going. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Once it's hot, add the garlic. Cook and stir just until it's fragrant… only a minute or two. Then pour in the tomato sauce, cream, sugar and seasonings. Once it starts to simmer, reduce the heat down to low and start preparing the meatballs.
  2. For the meatballs, place the ground beef, breadcrumbs, cheese, egg and seasonings into a large bowl. Use your hands to mix and incorporate everything together. Then roll the meat mixture into mini meatballs. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Once it's hot, add the meatballs to the skillet in batches. Cook and roll them around in the skillet every few minutes until they are browned on all sides. Then remove them from the skillet and stir them gently into the sauce.
  3. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13" baking pan and set it aside. Heat a large pot of salted water over high heat. Once it begins to boil, stir in the rigatoni pasta and cook according to package directions, until al dente. Drain and return to the pot. Then stir the ricotta cheese into the hot pasta. Add the sauce and meatballs to the pot and stir it all together. Then turn it out into the greased pan and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese evenly over the top.
  4. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, or until heated through and the cheese has a nice golden color. Serve immediately.
  5. If you only wanted to bake a smaller serving at a time, you could turn out the pasta mixture into two greased 8x8"baking pans instead of the larger 9x13". Top one with cheese and cook it immediately. Let the second one cool down completely, then top with the cheese, wrap it up tightly and place it in the freezer. The night before you're planning on baking it, place it in the fridge to thaw out overnight, then bake it for 30-40 minutes or until 165°F throughout. Each 8x8" pan will serve 4 people.

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