II have experimented with making Timballo myself. My husband loves this dish from Carino's and has complimented my remake quite highly. I am no chef, but enjoy trying new things. You can experiment with the ingredients/amounts to make it to your liking.

ANGIE'S TIMBALLO REMAKE

-meat(s) of choice (I have used various combinations of: ground Italian sausage, that big "u" shaped sausage I can't remember what it's called, chicken strips, shrimp)
-Pepperoni, chopped
-bacon, sliced or crumbled
-Onion, chopped
-Green bell pepper diced
-Red bell pepper diced
-Garlic powder or fresh finely chopped garlic
-mushrooms, chopped
-olives, sliced
-Thyme (approx. 1 – 1 1/2 tsp.)
-Basil (approx. 2 tsp.)
-Spaghetti noodles
-spaghetti sauce
-shredded mozzarella cheese
-Parmesan cheese

Cook spaghetti noodles, drain and set aside.
Cook meat(s)and bacon and drain off any fat, set aside. ( I cook meats in separate pans because of the fat draining off)
Sauté onion and bell peppers in a small amount of butter and Garlic in a large pan.
Add mushrooms, and pepperoni and heat through. Add meat mixture. Add Thyme and Basil. Mix in well.
Add Olives.
Mix in Spaghetti noodles to meat mixture.
Add approx. 2 cups of Spaghetti sauce (more or less depending on your taste)

Sprinkle small amount of mozzarella and parmesan cheese into the bottom of an oven safe baking dish. Layer spaghetti mixture and mozzarella alternating (not too much cheese here). This gets the cheese through the dish.
Top off with more mozzarella.
Bake for approx. 15 min. at 350 F.
When done sprinkle with parmesan cheese and enjoy.

It’s a little labor intensive but my husband loves it. If you can come up with a simplified version I would love to hear about it. For now, this works great!