Baked Ziti

Chef Skie's Note:

A great, easy pasta bake. Can be made ahead and frozen until ready to bake. I use this a lot for potlucks and weekday family meals. I usually make them in a big throw-away lasagna pan so clean up's a snap too! From the back of a San Giorgio pasta box.

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 6 cups uncooked ziti pasta
• 3 ½ cups spaghetti sauce , divided
• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• ¼ cup fresh parsley , chopped
• 1 egg , slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese , grated

Directions:

1. Cook ziti for 10 minutes in a large pot of boiling, salted water; drain.
2. In a large bowl, mix cooked ziti, 1 1/2 c of spaghetti sauce, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, parsley, egg, oregano, garlic powder, and pepper.
3. In a 3 quart casserole dish, pour 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce to coat the bottom of the dish.
4. Spread ziti mixture evenly over the sauce.
5. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce.
6. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. (you can cover and freeze for later at this point).
7. Bake covered at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes fresh, or around 1 hour if frozen, until hot and bubbly, and hot in the center.
8. Note: you may add 1 lb of cooked and drained ground beef in with the ziti mixture if you would like. You will need to add a little more sauce to the mixture if you add ground beef.