Italian Wedding Pasta Bake Casserole

This Italian wedding pasta bake with meatballs, and cheese has all the same ingredients and flavors of Italian Wedding soup with a panko breadcrumb topping with plenty of oregano seasoning and excellent flavors for a perfect casserole dish.

To follow my sister and I as we make this dish just click this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waqOFtzRGNE

Ingredients:

Butter cooking spray

Dried Farfalle pasta (or bowtie pasta) (12 oz)

Butter

Cold pressed olive oil (2 tablespoons)

Onion (1 whole yellow onion, chopped)

Celery (2 stalks, chopped)

Carrots (2 chopped)

Garlic (3 cloves, minced)

All-purpose flour (1/3 of a cup)

Chicken Broth (1 32 oz carton)

Grated Parmesan cheese (1 cup, divided) I'd recommend the Parmesan/Romano blend instead

Chopped Spinach (5 cups) (2 full bunches chopped)

Fresh oregano (2
tablespoons chopped)

Salt (to taste )

Panko breadcrumbs (Plain) (1 cup)

Fresh parsley (2 tablespoons, chopped)

Frozen Italian meatballs (28 oz package, thawed) I'd suggest making your own

Prep:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F

Lightly coat a 3-quart rectangular baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until almost tender, about 12 minutes; drain and transfer to a bowl. 

Heat 2 tablespoons butter and olive oil in the same pot (the one you just used) over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots. Cook, covered, until carrots are nearly tender, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Sprinkle flour over the vegetable mixture; cook and stir for 1 minute. 

While stirring, slowly pour in broth. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue to cook and stir until mixture is slightly thickened. 

Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan/Romano cheese. Add spinach; cook and stir until spinach is wilted. 

Next add the cooked pasta, meatballs, 2 tablespoons oregano, pepper, and salt to the pot; stir to combine. 

Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish. 

To make the topping: Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a bowl. Add panko and stir to combine. Stir in remaining Parmesan/Romano cheese. Sprinkle topping over the casserole. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and heated through, about 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. 

Top with remaining 1 tablespoon oregano and the parsley.