Party Pasta Bowl

Submitted by gailanng

"To prepare this dish ahead of time, assemble casserole 2-3 hours in advance, cover and refrigerate. When ready to serve, let stand at room temperature about 20 minutes then bake, uncovered, as recipe directs. A crown pleaser from Pampered Chef."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 30mins
• Ingredients: 14
• Serves: 12

ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta or (16 ounce) package penne pasta
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 lb lean ground beef (90%)
• 3 garlic cloves, pressed
• 2 teaspoons dried italian seasoning mix
• 1 (48 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 egg
• 1 (15 ounce) container part-skim ricotta cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1⁄4 cup snipped fresh parsley
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1⁄2 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese, divided
• additional snipped fresh parsley

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook pasta according to package directions in Dutch (6-qt.) Oven; drain.
2. Meanwhile, chop onion. Place onion, ground beef and garlic pressed with in (12-inch) skillet. Cook and stir over medium heat 8-10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink. Remove from heat; drain. Sprinkle with seasoning mix. Stir in sauce and tomatoes.
3. In bowl, lightly beat egg with whisk. Add ricotta cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, parsley and black pepper. Grate Parmesan cheese; set aside 1/4 cup. Stir remaining Parmesan cheese into ricotta mixture.
4. To assemble casserole, place cooked pasta in a ovenproof baking bowl. Add 6 cups of the meat sauce; mix well. Spread ricotta mixture evenly over pasta. Top with remaining meat sauce. Bake 1 hour. Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Continue baking 10 minutes or until bubbly. Garnish with additional parsley.