This hearty dinner doesn’t need any cutting, chopping, peeling or other prep work. Pour jarred marinara sauce and water over frozen meatballs and bow-tie pasta, top with mozzarella, and bake until the pasta is tender. No, you don’t need to boil water in a separate pot for the pasta. Yes, if you have your homemade sauce or meatballs in the freezer or leftover from another dinner, all the better.

The 13-by-9-inch pan makes six generous servings, and requires about an hour of baking time in the oven.  But keep in mind, it’s walk-away time; you don’t need to stand over the oven and watch it cook.

If you don’t need such a large dinner, and want to speed things up, I’ve included a microwave version that serves three and takes about 25 minutes. I use in a 2-quart Pyrex casserole dish with a lid.

EASY MEATBALL MARINARA BAKE
Makes 6 1 1/2 cup servings.
Needed: A 13-by-9-inch casserole dish
3 cups frozen bite-size meatballs (they do not need to be thawed)
3 cups uncooked bow-tie pasta
2 24-ounce jars marinara or spaghetti sauce
2 cups water (use the water to clean out the marinara sauce jar)
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
1. Place the meatballs evenly in the casserole dish. 
2. Add the dry pasta evenly in the dish. 
3. Pour the marinara or spaghetti sauce over the top. 
4. Swirl one cup of water into each jar of sauce, to clean out any leftover sauce. Pour over into the casserole dish.
5. Sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella evenly over the top of the dish.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour, or until pasta is tender. 
7. Sprinkle the top with remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella. Turn the broiler on to high and broil the top for 3-5 minutes, until cheese is bubbling.

HALF-SIZE MEATBALL MARINARA IN THE MICROWAVE
Makes 3 1-1/2 cup servings.
Needed: A 2-quart casserole dish with lid
1-1/2 cups frozen bite-size meatballs, about 12 (they do not need to be thawed)
1-1/2 cups uncooked bow-tie pasta
1 24-ounce jar marinara or spaghetti sauce
1 cups water (use the water to clean out the marinara sauce jar)
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1. Place the meatballs in the casserole dish. 
2. Pour the dry pasta evenly in the dish. 
3. Pour the marinara or spaghetti sauce over the top. 
4. Swirl one cup of water into the jar of sauce, to clean out any leftover sauce. Pour it over the casserole dish.
5. Put the lid on and microwave on HIGH for 15 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. 6. Sprinkle the top with the mozzarella. Cook an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.
— Valerie Phillips, “One Pot Dinners”