Baked Ziti

Still trying to keep up with the simple, easy dinners. Believe me it is really hard right now. I thought as the children got older it would get easier. I think I am busier now than when they were little. At least I had more control over their schedules! We are working VERY hard this year on my son’s executive functioning skills. I am queen of the work arounds for school and keeping things on track and it is now time for him to start to take it over. It is a tough transition but I am his “coach” and we will make this work.

The physical time is not as tiring as the emotional and mental time most days lately but it leaves me not wanting to cook, which is something new for me. But, I am trying to stick with the simple and tasty dishes. I generally am NOT a fan of Baked Ziti. To me it is generally too dry and just blah. But, I made it more like a lasagna this time and it was perfect, lots of sauce, flavor and adding the ricotta cheese kept it from drying out.

Verdict:

Even my ricotta hating son liked this dish. He said he thought it was because the ricotta was mixed through and the texture and flavor weren’t all concentrated in one area like lasagna. The rest of us thought it was delicious. There was enough for two lunch servings that were quickly claimed. I would say it definitely was a hit.

I served this with a side of green beans and a spinach salad to complete the meal.

`Baked Ziti`

Servings: 6-8
Time: 20 minutes prep 30 minutes baking
Difficulty: easy
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A warm comforting dish with the flavors of lasagna in an easy to put together dish.

Ingredients:

1 lb. Italian Sausage, bulk or removed from casing
2 jars pasta sauce (your favorite or homemade)
1 onion, diced
1 (16 oz) container Ricotta cheese
3 eggs
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon powdered garlic
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
4 oz. Parmesan cheese, shredded (plus extra for shredding if desired

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a dutch oven or oven proof pot brown sausage while breaking up into small pieces with a spoon. Add onions to sausage after 5 minutes.
While cooking sausage boil ziti according to package directions. Drain.
Mix ricotta cheese, eggs, basil, and powdered garlic together in a dish.
Once pasta is cooked add it to the sausage and onions in the dutch oven. Add cheese mixture and 1 1/2 -2 jars of sauce (your preference). Mix in all the Parmesan cheese and 1/2 the mozzarella.
Sprinkle remaining mozzarella over the top of the pasta. Bake until cheese is melted and starting to brown around the edges.
Serve hot.