Baked Ziti With Ricotta Cheese Food

DELICIOUSLY CHEESY BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
• Cook ziti according to package directions; drain; set aside.
• Mix ricotta, egg, parsley, 1-1/2 cups of the mozarella cheese, and parmesan cheese in a large bowl.
• Mix cooked sausage and pasta in with ricotta mixture.
• Mix in 3/4 jar of sauce.
• Transfer mixture into a 2 quart casserole dish.
• Top with the rest of the sauce and mozarella cheese.
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
• To freeze: Cover dish with foil and freeze. When frozen you can pop it out of the container and put in a freezer bag if desired.
• To heat: Thaw. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10-15 minutes more.

BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Boil ziti, following package directions, drain and place in a large bowl.
• Mix all the ricotta cheese and half of the mozzarella with the ziti.
• Spray a 13x9 pan with Pam.
• Cover the bottom half of the pan with about half the sauce.
• Put the ziti mixture on top of sauce.
• Pour remaining sauce on top of ziti.
• Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.
• Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Bake for 20-30 minutes until cheese is melted and it is lightly golden.

BAKED ZITI II

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and rinse.
• In a medium bowl, mix ziti, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg and 1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish and spoon in ziti mixture. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce, followed by Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes; let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

BAKED ZITI WITH RICOTTA CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, combine ricotta cheese, eggs, parmesan cheese and seasonings. In another bowl, thoroughly combine cooked pasta and sauce.
• Place half the pasta mixture in a 13x9 baking dish. Evenly top with the cheese mixture and remaining pasta. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
• Bake 35-40 minutes or until bubbly.

BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions and saute until starting to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ground beef and sausage and cook until browned. Drain off almost all of the fat, leaving a bit behind for flavor and moisture. Add the tomato sauce, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and some salt and pepper. Stir, bring to a simmer and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove 3 to 4 cups of the cooked sauce to a bowl to cool down.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add some salt. Cook the ziti until not quite al dente.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a bowl, mix 2 cups of the grated mozzarella, the ricotta, Parmesan, parsley, eggs and some salt and pepper. Stir together just a couple of times (do not mix completely).
• Drain the pasta and rinse under cool water to stop the cooking and cool it down. Pour it into the bowl with the cheese mixture and toss to slightly combine (there should still be large lumps). Add the cooled reserved meat sauce and toss to combine.
• Add half the coated pasta to a large casserole dish or lasagna dish. Spoon half of the remaining sauce over the top, then top with half the remaining mozzarella. Repeat with another layer of the coated pasta and the remaining sauce and mozzarella.
• Bake until bubbling, about 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before sprinkling with chopped parsley to serve.

BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously and boil the pasta until al dente (tender but still slightly firm). Drain.
• Toss the cooked pasta with the quick tomato sauce, cubed mozzarella, half the Parmesan, all of the black pepper and crushed red pepper in a large bowl. Transfer the pasta to the prepared baking dish. Cover the top of the pasta with the sliced mozzarella and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Bake until lightly browned and hot, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the onion and garlic, stirring, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and the herb sprigs and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
• Remove and discard the herb sprigs. Stir in 2 teaspoons salt and season with pepper. Use now or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months.

BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375.
• Cook pasta according to directions (I cook it al dente).
• Drain pasta.
• In a large bowl, stir together pasta, 1-1/2 cups of spaghetti sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, parsley oregano, basil, garlic powder and salt and pepper.
• In a 13x9x2 inch baking dish, spoon in pasta mixture.
• Top with remaining 1-1/2 cups sauce.
• Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
• Cover with foil.
• Bake 30-40 minutes until hot and bubbly* Make ahead directions: Prepare recipe as directed but do not bake.
• Cover with plastic wrap, then foil.
• Refrigerate up to 24 hours.
• Remove plastic wrap and replace foil.
• Bake as directed above.

BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Sauté onion in oil until it's tender.
• Add tomato paste, tomato sauce, water, oregano, basil, salt and pepper.
• Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375ºF.
• Coat casserole dish with cooking spray.
• Combine ricotta and 1/2 of the mozzarella in a large bowl.
• Add cooked ziti and half of the sauce.
• Stir.
• Turn into prepared casserole dish and pour on the remaining sauce.
• Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

ZITI WITH RICOTTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and pour in the pasta. Stir. Set your serving bowl on top of the pot to warm it.
• While the pasta cooks, whip the ricotta and goat cheese together with a fork.
• Once the pasta is cooked al dente, ladle out about a cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Stir in the butter and the cheeses and season with pepper. Stir in enough of the pasta water - a little at a time - to make a smooth sauce.
• Scrape the pasta into the serving bowl and serve immediately. Pass the grated cheese at the table.
• Variation
• Wash about 1/2 pound of greens, something like dandelion or curly endive or Swiss chard, and cut into ribbons. Sauté the greens in a combination of olive oil and butter, about 1 tablespoon of each, until tender. Season with salt and pepper, and a pinch of crushed red pepper if you'd like, and add to the pasta when you add the cheeses.
• Easier still is to tear 1/2 pound of arugula or dandelion greens into small pieces and boil them along with the pasta.

SLOW-COOKER 'BAKED' ZITI

Steps:

• Place pasta in slow cooker sprayed with cooking spray. Reserve 1/2 cup mozzarella for later use. Add remaining mozzarella to slow cooker along with all remaining ingredients; mix lightly. Cover with lid.
• Cook on LOW 3 to 4 hours (or on HIGH 2 to 3 hours).
• Top with reserved mozzarella; cook (covered) on HIGH 10 min. or until melted.

BAKED ZITI WITH EGGPLANT AND RICOTTA CHEESE

Steps:

• Place eggplant cubes in colander, sprinkle generously with salt. Let stand for 30 minutes. Rinse and drain thoroughly.
• Cook ziti in large amounts of boiling salted water until tender; drain. Add butter and toss to coat.
• In large skillet, cook eggplant, onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in tomatoes and tomato paste, 1/2 tsp salt, basil, oregano and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese.
• In small bowl, blend ricotta cheese, egg and remaining 1/2 tsp salt.
• In shallow three quart (3mL) casserole, layer half each: cooked pasta, tomato mixture, ricotta cheese mixture and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until cheese melts.

BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350ºF.
• Cook pasta as directed on package, omitting salt. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking water.
• Mix pasta sauce, ricotta and reserved pasta cooking water in large bowl. Add pasta and 1/2 cup mozzarella; mix lightly. Spoon into 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover.
• Bake 30 min.; uncover. Bake 10 min. or until heated through.