Baked Ziti

Made this tonight for a birthday party and it was a huge hit! I loved that I made it a few hours ahead of the party so that all I had to do was put it in the oven. Some things I did differently is used half/half types of meat, frozen chopped onions and I always season the meat when cooking. 

Source: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/baked_ziti/

My version:

Baked Ziti

PREP TIME20 mins

COOK TIME55 mins

TOTAL TIME75 mins

SERVINGS6 to 8 

If you don't have Italian seasoning in the pantry, use 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon dried basil and 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ziti or penne pasta

• Kosher salt

• bulk Italian sausage (.5 lb), ground beef (.5 lb)

• 1/2 bag frozen chopped onions 

• garlic powder (1/4 tsp)

• basil seasoning

• Italian seasoning

• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 42 oz Rao’s Spaghetti Sauce (publix or Costco) 

• Black pepper

• 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

• 1 cup ricotta cheese

 1. Preheat the oven: 

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Cook the pasta: 

Heat a large pot of water to a strong boil. Add the pasta and cook at a rolling boil, uncovered, until the pasta is al dente—edible but still a little firm to the bite. Probably 9 minutes.

Drain the pasta through a colander. (I did not do this: Toss with a little olive oil so the pasta does not stick together while you make the sauce.)

3. Brown the meat: 

While the water is heating in the previous step, start on the meat. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering hot, add the ground meat. Season generously with Italian seasoning, basil, a little salt, pepper and the red pepper flakes. Add frozen chopped onions. Break up any large chunks of as it cooks. Brown well.

4. Assemble the casserole: 

Spray Pam on glass dish. Spread a thin layer of the sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch casserole pan, then Add half noodles on top of sauce. Then, add half the meat. Then dot the surface with half the ricotta cheese. 

Repeat steps for a second layer. Then sprinkle on top both the mozzarella and the Parmesan cheese.

At this point, you can cool, cover, and refrigerate or freeze to make ahead. I refrigerated covered for a few hours.

5. Bake: 

Bake uncovered in the oven at 350°F until the top is lightly browned and the cheese melted, about 20 to 25 minutes. Then broil for 1-2 minutes watching carefully to brown the top a little. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.