Baked Ziti

As for my first meal ever to blog, I have chosen to go with my Baked Ziti recipe. My baked ziti recipe is truly one of my favorites; ask any of my family members. Anytime that I know I will be feeding a crowd I whip out this beautiful dish. It’s definitely a classic and my favorite thing to eat in the whole world. As you’ll soon find out anything Italian is my favorite J

The first time that I saw this meal be prepared was about 8^th grade when Rachel Ray made it on Food Network. I have tried making baked ziti all different types of ways; with zucchini slices layered throughout, ground chicken, ground turkey, different types of noodles, and etc. But, my favorite is adding in some sun dried tomatoes. YUMM!

Fun Fact: Pasta al Forno means Baked Ziti in Italian

What You’ll Need:

1 Box of Ziti Pasta Noodles

1Medium Onion

2 Cloves of Garlic

1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

1 Pound of Ground Beef

1 Teaspoon of Salt

½ Teaspoon of Pepper

1 Jar of Spaghetti/Pasta Sauce

1 Tablespoon of Fresh or Dried Oregano

1Tablespoon of Fresh or Dried Basil

1 Jar of Sun Dried Tomatoes

2 Fresh/Soft Mozzarella Cheese

What You’ll Do:

ü  Preheat oven to 375°

ü  Boil pasta according to package directions and drain.

ü  Julianne the onion and mince the garlic.

ü  Take one of your mozzarella balls and make slices. The slices will be for the top of the baked ziti. Take the other mozzarella ball and cut into cubes. Set the cheese off to side.

ü  Also, at this time drain the sun dried tomatoes and slices up into smaller pieces and then set aside.

ü  Add the onions and garlic to a pan with olive oil. Sautee until tender and the onions become slightly transparent.

ü  Add the salt and pepper.

ü  Next, add the ground beef. Cook until there is no pink showing.

ü  After the ground beef has been cooked through, add your spaghetti/pasta sauce.

ü  Then add your oregano and basil. Cook the sauce through.

ü  Now it is time to layer everything up into a 13X 9 pan.

ü  First, add a thin layer of sauce to the 13X9 pan

ü  Next, add a layer of noodles.

ü  Then, sprinkle with some sun dried tomatoes.

ü  Then, a layer of cheese cubes.

ü  Next, a layer of sauce and repeat steps until you run out of ingredients to make layers.

ü  The very top layer will be the mozzarella cheese slices.

ü  Cover with aluminum foil and put in your 375° for 25 minutes.

ü  After 25 minutes, take off aluminum foil and keep baking for another 10 minutes. 

ü  Lastly, ENJOY!!!

As you can tell this is truly a crowd pleaser. But, I mean why wouldn’t it be? Delicious pasta, flavorful tomato sauce, and gooey cheese, OH! and let’s not forget about those hidden bites of sun dried tomatoes!(My favorite!!)

Serve With: Small side salad and Bread sticks.

Prep Time: 15-20 minutes

Oven Time: 35 minutes

Full Process: 45-50 minutes

Total Number of Servings: 8 severings

Price of Whole Dish: $19.45

Price per Person: $2.43

Please enjoy!!

-SW