Baked Ziti Casserole

I got the basic recipe from the back of a spaghetti sauce can but have added ingredients that we like to make it special for our family's tastes. Sometimes, I take it to potlucks and come home with an empty dish! I always make a big pot of it when my son's friends are here and they eat it all! Growing boys...lol. Hope you like it too if you try it!

• Ready In: 50 mins
• Serves: 10
• Yields: 1 casserole

Ingredients

• 1  lb ground beef, cooked and drained (I use extra lean)
• 1 (20 ounce) can  hunts  four cheese pasta sauce
• 1 (8 ounce) can hunts tomato paste
•  nonstick cooking spray
• 1 (12 ounce) package ziti pasta (I use Barilla brand)
• 16  ounces small curd cottage cheese (full fat variety not fat free or skim)
• 1  cup  shredded parmesan cheese (not the kind in the green tube but the kind in the cheese section that you grate or comes grated in )
• 1  cup  shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1  medium green pepper, chopped
• 1  small onion, chopped
• 10  white button mushrooms, sliced
• 1  teaspoon garlic powder
• 1  teaspoon onion powder
• 1  teaspoon oregano
• 1 (15 ounce) can black olives
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cook and drain ground beef.
3. Saute green pepper, onion, and mushrooms and add to ground beef.
4. Add onion powder and garlic powder, oregano and 3 tablespoons of the tomato paste. Stir and set aside while you cook pasta.(al dente).
5. Drain cooked pasta and set aside.
6. Stir together the cottage cheese, sour cream.
7. Slice the black olives and add to the cottage cheese mixture.
8. Mix the spaghetti sauce and remaining tomato paste with the ziti.
9. Spray 9x13 pan with non stick spray.
10. Place half the noodles in the pan.
11. Top with meat mixture and a layer of parmesan cheese.
12. Top with the cottage cheese and sour cream mixture.
13. Top with a layer of the Mozarella cheese.
14. Top with the other half of the noodles and a final layer of parmesan cheese (the inside layers of cheese can be thin, just enough to add a cheesy layer).
15. Bake uncovered 30 minute or until hot and bubbly and cheeses are melted.