Baked Ziti

This recipe is off the back of the San Giorgio® ziti box. It is one of their “Creative Classics.”

Prep Time: 10 minutes            Start to Finish: 1 hour

Ingredients

6 cups (16 oz.) San Giorgio® Ziti, uncooked

3 cups (about 28-oz. jar) spaghetti sauce, divided

1-3/4 cups (15 ox.) ricotta cheese

2 cups (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

1 egg

1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Heat oven to 375ºF. Cook pasta according to package directions for 9 minutes; drain. In large bowl, stir together hot pasta, 1-1/2 cups spaghetti sauce, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, parsley, egg, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper. In 13x9x2-inch baking dish, spoon pasta mixture; top with remaining 1-1/2 cups sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese; cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. 10 servings (1 cup each).

MAKE-AHEAD DIRECTIONS: Prepare recipe as directed, but do not bake. Cover with plastic wrap, then foil. Refrigerate up to 24 hours or freeze up to 2 months. Thaw frozen version in refrigerator overnight. Remove plastic wrap; replace foil. Bake as directed, adding about 10 minutes to baking time.

 

My Tweaks

2 large green bell peppers, sliced and roasted

Sweet Italian sausage, mildly seasoned, all natural (pork, beef, veal), sliced and cooked

Chili pepper flakes instead of black pepper

2 jars of spaghetti sauce, to balance my added ingredients – I used  1 each of Paul Newman’s “Sockarooni” and “Roasted Garlic and Tomato”

I also used fresh Greek oregano leaves from my garden and when I have fresh parsley, I use it, too.

I salted the pasta boiling water, but did not add salt to the recipe preparations. I did splash a little extra virgin olive oil into the bottom of the baking dish.

–Samantha