Baked Ziti with Broccoli & Meatballs

This recipe is fantastic and very filling! This would be great if you were cooking for a group, it makes quite a bit. This is actually a recipe from "Granato", an Italian restaurant here in Salt Lake. I made some adjustments and additions because the recipe I found was pretty vague. Serve with fried mozzarella sticks and salad.

baked meatballs

2 cups broccoli florets
4 Tbs. olive oil
4 cups Marinara ("Barilla" brand)
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
fresh basil
more cheese, if needed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil pasta til al dente. In the meantime, pour pasta sauce in a large, deep skillet, add meatballs and just bring to a simmer. Mix the pasta with the meatball sauce, broccoli, mozzarella and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Transfer to an oiled casserole dish.
Mix the breadcrumbs with the rest of the parmesan and chopped fresh basil if desired.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until cheese of top gets golden and crispy.
Serve with more sauce, basil and cheese.

Baked Meatballs:

1 1/2 Lb. ground beef
3 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c. grated parmesan
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 tsp. onion powder
red pepper flakes (to taste)
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all ingredients, roll into medium-sized meatballs and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet (if you want to keep it even lighter, place meatballs on a wire cooling rack, then place that on top of the cookie sheet lined with foil, that way the grease drips down off of the meatballs). Bake for about 12-14 minutes or until no longer pink.