Week Night Ziti
This is an easy week night fix or can be done the night before and put in the oven right before dinner. Serve with a nice homemade garlic bread for a quick Italian dinner every one will love.
Week Night Ziti
Ingredients:
- 1 lbs Diamond R Ground Beef
- 2T good olive oil
- 8oz package of Ricotta Cheese
- 12oz shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 2 cups Ziti or Shell pasta
- 3/4 jar of good spaghetti sauce (or pull your homemade out of the freezer!)
- 1t onion power
- 1.5T Italian Seasoning
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper to taste
- Red pepper flakes if you like some Italian heat
- Fresh parsley, chopped for garnish
Directions:
- Start your pasta water boiling. Add 2t of salt and a dash of olive oil. Cook pasta until al dente (about 3/4 cooked). Drain and run cold water over it to stop the cooking. Toss in a little olive oil to keep it from sticking. Set aside.
- In some olive oil, brown the chopped garlic, be sure not to burn. Add in the ground beef and add onion powder, salt and pepper to taste. Diamond R beef shouldn't need drained, but if you prefer go ahead and drain it. Add the spaghetti sauce to the meat and heat thru.
- In a bowl, add the pasta, beaten egg, ricotta, 3/4 of the mozzarella, and half the parm cheese. Add the Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Combine
- In a greased casserole dish, add 1/4 of the meat mixture, then top with 1/2 the pasta mixture. You are wanting to layer the meat and pasta, not mix it in. Then add half of the remaining meat mixture, layer the remaining pasta mixture, then finally add the remaining meat mixture. Top with a handful of the mozzarella cheese and sprinkle some shredded parm on top with a sprinkle of Italian seasoning. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until the cheese bubbles. Remove from the oven and top with shredded parsley before serving.
If you have any questions or pics be sure to share! I would love to see them!
