Meatloaf Baked Ziti (Spaghetti))- Rachael Ray

Submitted by Mandy

"Whenever I cook meatloaf recipe #230929 I always have leftovers. Even though I love meatloaf sandwiches I thought this was a great idea for something different. I saw Rachael Ray cook it and just had to write down the recipe. It's extremely economical & goes a loooong way, tasty too!"

 

• Ready In: 36mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 1 lb ziti pasta
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 cup beef stock (eyeball it)
• 1 (14 ounce) can chunky-style crushed tomatoes
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 4 inches thick slices of leftover meatloaf (or equivalent)
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, divided
• 1 fresh mozzarella ball, cut into small cubes, divided

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Once the water comes to a boil, add a generous handful of salt. Cook the pasta just short of al dente. Drain and return to the pot.
3. Preheat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add oil, onions, garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes.
4. Add the beef stock and both cans of crushed tomatoes, and bring to a bubble. Chop or crumble up leftover meatloaf and add to the sauce.
5. Simmer for 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Add half of the tomato meatloaf sauce to the cooked pasta. Add the ricotta and half of the Parmigiano, and toss to coat. Add half of the cubed mozzarella cheese, give everything a stir and then transfer it to an oven-safe baking dish.
7. Top with the remaining tomato meatloaf sauce, cubed mozzarella and the Parmigiano. Transfer to the oven and bake until the top is nice and brown, about 10-15 minutes.

Reviews

[Blue Skies]

Wow I just came across this on Rachel Ray's site too...looking for something to use up our leftover meatloaf it. Phenomenal! I customized: used the crockpot for ingredients 2-10 plus parmesan, mixed and heated on low for 5 hours. Then to our tastes: instead of ricotta I made a bechamel sauce (1/4 c butter, 6 1/2 tablespoons flour, 2 cups milk, 2 teaspoons salt, freshly ground pepper to taste, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg to taste--make a roux with the butter and flour, gradually add in milk while stirring nonstop until almost boiling and sauce thickens to gravy consistency. Add spices). When sauce in crockpot was done I added the bechamel to it and mixed well, then added that to the al dente ziti noodles, sprinkled with mozarella and baked. Oh I crumbled the meatloaf to a ground meat consistency. I highly recommend to anyone, no one will ever know they're eating leftovers!

 

[Vamy7913]

Very good! You can't go wrong with a Rachael Ray recipe! Thanks so much!