From the Kitchen: Pioneer Woman Baked Ziti

It is hard to go wrong with a Pioneer Woman recipe!  We had several friends over for dinner recently; since it was a Friday night, I needed something I could prep in advance since I didn't want my kitchen to be a disaster from trying to cook something on Friday after work.  This was perfect - I prepped it on Thursday night, refrigerated it overnight, and popped it in the oven when I got home from work on Friday.  My house smelled delicious but my kitchen stayed clean!  This recipe makes a TON (we had 6 adults and ate less than half of it!); I froze the other half (unbaked) and used it for a quick weeknight dinner a few weeks later.

Pioneer Woman Baked Ziti

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Servings: 12 (this recipe made a large Corningware casserole and an 8x8" Pyrex for me)

Ingredients:

1 16-oz box ziti pasta

1 lb ground Italian sausage

1 lb ground beef

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, diced

1 28-oz can whole tomatoes in juice

2 14.5-oz cans tomato sauce

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 15-oz container ricotta cheese

1 16-oz block mozzarella cheese, grated

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg

Directions:

In a large pot of salted water, boil the ziti noodles according to package directions until just shy of al dente (otherwise they'll be mushy after baking the ziti).  Rinse it under cold water (I add ice cubes) to cool it down and stop the cooking process.  Set aside.

In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, saute the ground Italian sausage, ground beef, minced garlic, and diced onion until the meat is well browned.  Drain excess fat.  Add the canned whole tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes.  Salt and pepper to taste, stir well, and let simmer for 25-30 minutes.  Set aside 3-4 cups of sauce in a separate bowl to cool.

In a mixing bowl, stir together the ricotta, 2 cups of grated mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, and egg.  Add the cooled, cooked ziti and the cooled meat sauce that was previously set aside and stir to combine.

In a greased casserole (e.g., Corningware) or glass (e.g., Pyrex) dish, add half of the pasta mixture.  Top with half of the remaining sauce and half of the remaining grated mozzarella.  Repeat with another layer of the pasta mixture, the rest of the sauce, and the rest of the grated mozzarella.

Bake at 375 degrees approximately 20 minutes or until heated through and bubbling.  Allow to sit 5 minutes before serving.

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