Baked Ziti

October 9, 2014 By Leave a Comment

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I’ve been so consumed by our breast cancer baking campaign, Bake it Happen, that I was on the verge of pulling my hair out when trying to figure out what to make for dinner last night.

Then, I had an aha moment.

I usually never make pasta for dinner,  partly because I feel like my children already have an intense relationship with carbs on a daily basis. Yet, as I scanned the pantry and fridge, I realized I had all the fixings for a Baked Ziti dish and I had never made the dish!

I felt so relieved and quite surprised that, out of all of the meals I have challenged myself to cook in the past 3 years, none of them had been Baked Ziti! BONUS.

I had the pasta and the sauce and surprisingly, I had just purchased a fresh 1b of mozzarella cheese that I planned to use for a nice refreshing Caprese salad– that never got made.

The more time I spend in the kitchen, the more I am constantly amazed at how simple, slight variations on celebrated meals can help to diversify dinner time and to decrease the stress involved.

Within minutes of my averted breakdown,  I was boiling the pasta and my son was helping me carve away at the mozzarella ball. We were a team and a Baked Ziti our mission.

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We got a little creative and decided to cut up some Italian sausage because, why not? It could only enhance the overall flavor of the dish, right?  And we weren’t using a traditional meat sauce that’s often used.

So, what happened a mere forty minutes later? I pulled out a beautiful, bubbling, 9×13″ pyrex dish bursting with pasta, tomato sauce, cheese and sausage.

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And, lucky for me, dinner for tonight is a no-brainer: LEFTOVERS!

I know you will enjoy.

Baked Ziti

serves 7-8

adapted from Food Network Magazine

Ingredients:

1 pound dried ziti pasta
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound Italian sausage
3 tablespoons vidalia onion, diced
3 1/2 cups  Tomato Sauce
1 pound fresh mozzarella, half cut into 1/2-inch cubes and half thinly sliced
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and boil the pasta until al dente, tender but still slightly firm. Drain.

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cut  the sausage into tiny squares then cook in saucepan until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the diced onion  while  stirring, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.
Toss the cooked pasta with the marinara sauce, sauteed sausage and onions, cubed mozzarella, half the Parmesan cheese, black pepper, and pepper flakes.
Pour the pasta mixture onto an oiled 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Cover the top of the pasta with the sliced mozzarella, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.
Bake until lightly browned and hot, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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