Baked Ziti Florentine

Submitted by SweetDivaMJ

"This is a casserole my family can't get enough of. It freezes and reheats well - a great make-ahead meal. I usually serve it with garlic bread and a salad."

 

• Ready In: 50mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 lb ziti pasta
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 ounces ground chuck or 8 ounces ground turkey
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons Italian herb seasoning
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 (10 ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese, Shredded

directions

1. Cook ziti in a large pot of boiling water according to package directions. Drain and leave in a colander.
2. Heat oil in same pot. Add ground beef and onions and cook over medium- high heat, breaking up beef with a wooden spoon, 4 minutes or until beef is no longer pink.
3. Stir in tomatoes, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook 12 minutes for flavor to develop. Stir in spinach and cook 3 minutes longer.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Heat oven to 375°F Have a 13x9-inch baking dish ready; spray with nonstick cooking spray.
6. Stir cooked ziti and cottage cheese into spinach sauce until blended. Spoon into baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese.
7. Bake 30 minutes, or until top is golden.
8. ***Note***.
9. The last time I made this, I had some leftover cheese sauce I needed to use up so I threw it in and it was great! Made a creamier casserole that I actually preferred, but since the rest of the family likes both versions equally, I'm just addding this as a note.

10. Here's the cheese sauce if you're intereseted:

11. 2 Tablespoons butter.
12. 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour.
13. 1 cup milk.
14. 1/4 teaspoon salt.
15. 1/8 teaspoon pepper (or to taste).
16. 1 cup Cheddar cheese.
17. 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard.
18. Melt butter in heavy saucepan over low heat; add flour, stirring until smooth. Gradually add milk; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. Stir in salt, cheese and dry mustard.

Reviews

[puppitypup]

We liked it! I made it according to the original recipe. Next time I will make it with the addition of the cream sauce as it seemed a bit dry. Made for Potluck, please see my rating system as I rate tougher than most.