It’s all about Sunday dinner on a cold winter day. How about Baked Ziti, an old time favorite, a wonderful comfort food. Served with a green salad and toasted garlic bread.  Today you can buy the old-fashioned white pasta or replace it with whole wheat, protein or high fiber pasta. I use jarred spaghetti sauce in this recipe, but you can use your own homemade sauce, I have been known to cook Italian sausage or meatballs (my recipe – search meat balls) and add to the mixture. Use fresh parsley, easy to cut if you bunch it and just slice it with a knife at the top of the bunch into thin ribbons.

INGREDIENTS:

• 18-ounce box of Ziti, cook and drain as directed on the box. Do not rinse
• 3-1/2 cups (32-ounce jar of sauce) spaghetti sauce
• 2 cups Ricotta cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• ¼ cup chopped, fresh parsley
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook pasta according to directions, drain but do not rinse (rinsing pasta prevents sauce from sticking to it)
2. In a large bowl combine all ingredients and only ½ cup spaghetti sauce
3. In a 3 quart casserole pour another ½ cup of spaghetti sauce on bottom of dish and spread out
4. Pour contents of ziti mixture into casserole and spread out
5. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce on top of ziti mixture, sprinkle with parmesan cheese
6. Bake covered with aluminum foil in a 375 F. degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until hot and bubbly

Tagged: dinner, meatballs, Past, Sausage, Supper, Ziti