Italian Baked Rice

Photo: flickr user JasonDGreat

Ingredients

Soft bread crumbs

3/4 cup uncooked rice

4 cups spaghetti sauce

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 doz. tiny meatballs

1 egg, beaten

Salt to taste

Preparation

Thoroughly grease an 8 x 3 inch baking dish; add enough bread crumbs to coat sides and bottom of pan lightly. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Cook rice until tender; drain. Combine cooked rice and enough spaghetti sauce to cover rice in a large bowl; add cheese, meatballs, egg and salt. Mix thoroughly. Spoon some of remaining spaghetti sauce in baking pan with crumbs, top with 1/2 of rice mixture. Add more sauce and Parmesan cheese. Add remaining rice mixture; sprinkle with more cheese.

Cover and bake at 275 degrees for 1 hour. Remove from oven; remove cover, loosen sides of casserole. Turn dish upside down onto a large, flat dish; let stand for 1 hour. Remove baking dish from the top of casserole. Slice rice as you would serve a cake. Serve with additional spaghetti sauce and cheese.