Cheesy pasta goodness! A cross between lasagna and spaghetti!
Ready to eat!

Ready to eat!

Ziti is one of my son’s favorite meals.

The basic no-frills recipe.

Note: For super fast prep time, I buy pre-shredded cheese and the marina sauce,

  • 1 pound al dente ziti
  • 12 oz ricotta
  • 2 eggs
  • 3/4  cup grated parmesan
  • 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
  • 3 cups ( a jar and 1/2) of marina sauce
  • 8 oz shredded mozzarella
  • salt and pepper to taste. ( personally I think bottled sauce has plenty of salt, so I just   add pepper)
  • Optional mix-ins
  • 1 lb cooked ground beef, or chicken, or spicy Italian sausage (remove casing and brown on stove top)
  • 3-4  chopped roasted garlic ( or saute a tablespoon of minced garlic in butter)
  • Italian seasoning like sage, thyme, basil, rosemary, or  Italian spice mix ( fresh is best but who can get to the grocery store every day?)
  • red pepper flakes ( to taste)
  • top with fresh sliced tomatoes
Combine ricotta eggs, 1/2 cup Parmesan and spread enough sauce on bottom of 9 X 13-inch glass pan to prevent pasta from sticking. Layer ziti and mixture and mozzarella  Top layer should be mozzarella and remainder of Parmesan. I  top my ziti with sliced tomatoes and more mozzarella.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or  until  cheesy is melt-licious and sauce is bubbling.
Mmmmm.

Before it goes into the oven

This recipe makes A LOT of food, and without the meat, the 9 x 13 pan is brimming.

Enjoy!

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