overnight meatball and pasta casserole

Just go ahead and mark this one as quite possibly the easiest (and incredibly delicious!) casserole dish you will ever make.  I won't pretend its healthy.  But man.  Easy and oh so good.

please excuse my completely unappetizing photo of the dish

My mom and I put this dish together, as well as this make ahead chicken casserole, for the 4th of July.  This one 100% tastier than the chicken dish that took much much longer to prepare.  She put it together again this past weekend, along with this chicken dish.  The meatball casserole was still the clear favorite (although I actually liked the chicken dish too this time).  If you don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen this dish is a great go-to.  Seriously, you throw everything into the dish FROZEN.

Overnight Meatball and Pasta Casserole
from Pillsbury's Casseroles & One-Dish Meals, October 1999

Ingredients

• 1 (14-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
• 1 cup water
• 6 1/2 ounces (3 cups) uncooked mini lasagna noodles (mafalda)
• 1 cup frozen bell pepper and onion stir-fry, larger pieces cut up
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen precooked Italian meatballs
• 6 ounces (1 1/2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. In an ungreased 12x8-inch (2-quart) baking dish, combine spaghetti sauce, soup and water; mix well.  Stir in uncooked noodles, and bell pepper and onion stir-fry.  Add meatballs; turn to coat with sauce.  (Noodles should be completely covered with sauce.)  Cover tightly with foil; refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
2. When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake covered for 45 minutes.
3. Uncover baking dish; sprinkle with cheese and parsley.  Bake uncovered for an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until casserole is bubbly and cheese is melted.

Enjoy!