Baked Ziti
Ingredients:
1 quart prepared spaghetti sauce, divided*
1 pound ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
1/2 teaspoon dried or 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
1 pound ziti pasta, slightly under cooked and drained
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease 9x13 or 2- 8 inch square baking pans. (I usually freeze** one.)
In a large bowl, completely combine 2 cups of sauce, ricotta, parmesan, 1 cup mozzarella and parsley. Stir in ziti.
Spread 1 cup of sauce in bottom of pan. Spread ziti mixure on top of sauce. Spread last cup of sauce on top of ziti. Sprinkle top with rest of mozzarella.
Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and slightly brown around the edges.
* If the sauce doesn't have very much flavor you may wish to add salt, pepper, and some garlic powder to the ricotta mixture.
**This recipe freezes beautifully. After baking, allow ziti to cool down. Once cool, cover top of baking pan with plastic wrap. Completely cover the plastic wrap, tucking in edges if necessary, with heavy foil. Freeze pan. The frozen pan can go in the oven, but cooking time may increase to an hour or more. Cooking time is same as above if ziti is allowed to defrost. Also, freezing does cause ziti to be dry. You may wish to have some extra sauce on hand, when you make the frozen dish.
B-man
