If you're anything like me then you always have pasta noodles - of some sort - on hand. A delicious pasta dish is one the easiest things to make for dinner - it's not very time consuming and yet it's very filling for all the hungry bellies in your home. Here is a yummy baked ziti recipie I use often.
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Step 1: Heat your oven to 350 degrees and butter or grease a baking dish.
Step 2: Cook a box of ziti as it says on the box.... boil the water, add a little oil so it doesn't stick, stir, and once your pasta feels soft - take a piece out on the counter and check it - then drain it in a colindar. It's simple. I promise. Just follow the instructions on the box.
Step 3: If you can multitask then brown your ground beef or in my case ground turkey. If not, then brown your meat AFTER you finish cooking the pasta. It's fine. The pasta can sit and wait until you need it. To brown your beef/turkey, simply open the package and flip it into a skillet. Set the stove to medium heat and use a wooden spoon or spatula to move the meat around & break it up into small pieces. I like to add a little spinkle of salt & pepper at this point just because. But it's not needed.
Step 3: If you can multitask then brown your ground beef or in my case ground turkey. If not, then brown your meat AFTER you finish cooking the pasta. It's fine. The pasta can sit and wait until you need it. To brown your beef/turkey, simply open the package and flip it into a skillet. Set the stove to medium heat and use a wooden spoon or spatula to move the meat around & break it up into small pieces. I like to add a little spinkle of salt & pepper at this point just because. But it's not needed.
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You'll know your meat is ready to be flipped or moved around in the pan when it starts to loose that pink coloring and starts to look more like the below picture.
It's completely finished cooking when all of the pink is gone. I personally like a little bit of a brown - some people refer to it as burnt look. But I love that slightly burnt/extra browned taste. Once your meat looks like the below picture, remove it from the heat.
Step 4: Grab a large mixing bowl and add in 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, and I also like to add about 1-2 teaspoons of some Italian Seasoning. I have a cheaper version and a fancier one. I use a little of each. Use as much or as little of each seasoning as you like. As always, you do you. (Side note: if you have this fancier version of Italian Seasoning, it tastes so good on Halibut. Like so good! And then a little bread crumbs.... oh.my.god. So delicious! But that's for another day.)
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Step 4 continued... keep adding to your bowl. Add your 1 egg, 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, 3/4 to a full jar of Alfredo sauce, 1 can of Pasta Sauce. Mix it all together with a spoon.
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Step 5: Add your cooked pasta and your cooked meat to the bowl. Stir it all up. Add more cheese or seasonings if you feel you need them.
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Step 6: Pour your yummy mixture into your buttered baking dish. Use a spatula to level it out. It should look delicious by now.
Step 7: Place a sheet of aluminum foil over the top - tuck it in around the dish and place it in your preheated oven. Let it cook for about 30 minutes. We're basically getting it nice a hot. After 30 minutes, remove it from the oven and sprinkle about a cup (or more if you like) of a Parmesian & Mozzarella cheese mixture all over the top. Place it back in the oven to melt the cheese - about 10 minutes.
Step 8: To complete your Italian meal, grab yourself a box of garlic bread sticks or garlic toast and bake them for the recommended time on their packaging - usually 5 -8 minutes. I always have boxes of these in the freezer. They're a great way to fancy up a can of Chef Boyardee Ravioli. Yep, mmmhmm... I do that. It makes eating from a can less sad and more fab.
Step 9: Once your ziti is done baking it should look like the below picture and it should smell delicious. So grab yourself a plate and serve up some of your delicious Baked Ziti.
This really is a fast and easy meal. And if you prefer it with more of a saucyness - add more pasta sauce or more alfredo sauce. If you prefer it less saucy, then add less. You do you.
