Meaty Mondays -- Baked Ziti

I love the casserole. Whoever came up with it is a genius! If it wasn't for Josh, I would be cooking a different chicken casserole every night of the week and eating the leftovers for lunch the next day. There is just something yummy about them... but, alas, I am married to a boy that likes his starch, veggies, and meat to be separate entities. The only way I tend to get by with a casserole is if it is pasta or mexican. Tonight, we have feasted on pasta. Josh is not a big fan of pasta, however, so I have to do a lot of "doctoring" to recipes to make them man enough for him.


This recipe was honed by my roommate Valerie and I over the course of living together during undergrad. And, I must say, it is pretty rockin!

Try it with chicken instead of ground beef if you want... it is delicious!! The recipe is pretty basic and could easily be found, but just add WAY more pepper than called for to add a little kick!


Baked Ziti

• 1 cup cooked ziti pasta
• 3/4 lb ground beef
• jar of spaghetti sauce
• 15 oz. container of ricotta
• 2 cups of shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• parmesan cheese to top

1. Brown meat. After browning stir in spaghetti sauce (I use less than a full jar) and simmer for 10+ minutes.

2. Mix together ricotta, half of the mozzarella, salt and pepper. This is where I add more pepper and a few little dashes of other seasonings (cayenne works pretty well).

3. After the meat and sauce mixture has simmered, toss in the already cooked ziti (I omitted this step because I figured you could figure it out)

4. Layer the two in a casserole dish. Spread half of the meat/pasta mixture out, then top with the entirety of the cheese mixture. Add on the rest of the meat/pasta. Then, coat the top of the casserole with the remaining mozzarella and as much parmesan cheese as you like.

5. Bake covered with foil at 350 for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for about 5 more minutes. At this point, pop in some garlic bread too! 


And, here you go! Bubbly, baked perfection. yuuuuummm!

-Sara