Sunday, January 20, 2008

Baked Ziti

I know, I know, I've been horrible about posting still...but oh, well. I'm still doing the challenge. :-)

Wednesday night I made baked ziti. Usually I make baked ziti with no meat in it. I decided to do it a little different this time, I used some hot Italian sausage in it. I first tried to cut up the sausage before cooking it, but it only took a bit of a slice before I realized that wouldn't work. So...out comes the skillet to fry up a couple of sausages. I'm not usually a fan of spicy foods, but DB likes them and I must admit, I'm beginning to have an easier time with the heat. The sausages didn't taste too hot for me.

I also was able to use up more of the pasta sauce I made last week.

Baked Ziti
1 package ziti with ridges
3 hot Italian sausages
3-4 cups pasta sauce (to taste)
1 bag mozzarella cheese

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
  3. While the water is heating up, cook the sausages in a skillet, turning occasionally.
  4. When water is boiling, add pasta and cook until softer, but still firm.
  5. Cut the sausages into bite-sized pieces.
  6. Strain the pasta and mix in sausage.
  7. Pour pasta, sausage, and sauce into a baking dish (I used a 9"x13" pan), making sure the sauce is over all the pasta.
  8. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over pasta until covered.
  9. Spray aluminum foil with non-stick spray and cover dish. Put in oven for approximately 30 minutes or until cheese is melted. Foil may be removed for final minutes to brown the cheese.

 

Made by Lena