Veggie Medley Ziti Food

BAKED ZITI WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES

Steps:

• To roast the veggies: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit with racks in the middle and upper third of the oven. Line two large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent the vegetables from sticking.
• Place the cauliflower florets on one pan. On the other pan, combine the bell peppers and onion. Drizzle half of the olive oil over one pan, and the other half over the other pan. Sprinkle the salt over the two pans. Gently toss until the vegetables on each pan are lightly coated in oil.
• Arrange the vegetables in an even layer across each pan. Bake until the vegetables are tender and caramelized on the edges, about 30 to 35 minutes, tossing the veggies and swapping their rack positions halfway (lower rack to upper rack, and vice versa). Leave the oven on at 425, because we're going to bake the dish at the same temperature. If you end up with any stray burnt onion pieces, discard them, and set the vegetables aside.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta just until al dente, according to package directions (it will continue to cook while it bakes in the oven, so you want the pasta to still have a little bite to it). Drain and return the pasta to the pot.
• Add 2 cups of the marinara, the chopped basil, and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella to the pasta. Gently stir to combine.
• It's assembly time! Spread 1 cup of additional marinara sauce inside a 9×13″ baker. Top with half of the pasta mixture, and gently spread it into an even layer. Evenly sprinkle the roasted cauliflower on top, then dollop 1 cup of the cottage cheese over the cauliflower (it doesn't need to be spread into an even layer), followed by 1/2 cup of the mozzarella.
• Top the mozzarella with the remaining pasta. Then sprinkle the roasted peppers and onion on top, dollop the remaining cup of ricotta on top, then dollop the remaining cup of marinara on that, then sprinkle the remaining cheese all over.
• Place a clean, rimmed baking sheet on the lower oven rack to catch any drippings. Place the ziti, uncovered, on top of the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, then transfer to the upper rack for 2 to 5 more minutes until the cheese is deeply golden, if desired.
• Remove the baker from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before serving (trust me). Sprinkle freshly torn basil on top, slice with a sharp knife, and serve.

VEGGIE MEDLEY ZITI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In large skillet with olive oil, on med-high cook onions for 5 min. then stir in the following every few minutes, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, mushrooms & finally garlic. While veggies saute, boil pasta for 9-10 minutes in water (noodles should be al dente). Drain. Add spaghetti sauce, broth and all spices, except nutmeg, to the cooked veggies. Cook covered, stirring occasionally, for 10 min. Stir one cup of the veggie sauce into the noodles.
• In a 13x9 glass baking dish spoon 1/2 of noodle/sauce mix in bottom of pan. Sprinkle 1/2 cup parmesan & then 1 1/4 cup mozarella over noodle/sauce mix. Spread evenly 2 cups veggie sauce over cheese. Cover and bake for 20 min.
• Remove & uncover dish. Add remaining parmesan then mozarella evenly on top. Sprinkle nutmeg & return to oven for another 15 min.

ITALIAN ZITI MEDLEY

Steps:

• In a 4 quart saucepan, brown sausage, remove and drain.
• Melt butter and cook mushrooms, peppers and onion until tender, but not brown. Blend flour into vegetable mix; gradually stir in mil. Cook stirring constantly over medium low heat until mixture boils. Boil and stir one minute.
• Blend in 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese and pepper until cheeses are melted and mix is smooth.
• Cook Ziti and drain.
• Stir hot cooked ziti and sausage into vegetable cheese mixture. Pour into a butter 2 quart casserole. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese.
• Bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

ROASTED VEGETABLE BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Preheat broiler. Make sauce: In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour and cook, whisking about 2 minutes. Stir in vegetable stock, a little bit at a time. Add onion and Parmesan cook until the thickness you would like. Remove onion. Set aside. In a roasting pan arrange tomatoes, eggplant, red peppers, onion and toss with garlic, olives and oil. Place pan in the oven on the top shelf for 30 minutes or until vegetables are beginning to brown. Remove from oven to a cutting board and roughly chop all the vegetables. Transfer them to a bowl. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Ladle about 1/3 of sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch pan. Layer 1/2 of vegetables, 1/2 cooked pasta, 1/2 of mozzarella, 1/2 pasta, 1/3 sauce, 1/2 mozzarella, 1/2 vegetables, 1/3 sauce, Parmesan. Bake, covered with foil, for approximately 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10 minutes more or until bubbly.

ITALIAN VEGETABLE MEDLEY

Steps:

• In a large nonstick frying pan put the olive oil, garlic and red chili flakes (optional). Heat over high heat until the edges of the garlic start to brown.
• Add the carrots, yellow squash and zucchini and stir to blend.
• Add the Italian seasoning and stir again.
• Flip the vegetables over occasionally using a spachula. Some of the vegetables should get brown spots on them, but the vegetables taste best if there is still a slight crispness to them.
• When the vegetables are ready, add salt.
• Turn off heat.
• If desired, stir in a deseeded and diced roma (plum) tomato at this time-optional.
• I have had similar recipes at Italian restaurants, so I eventually made up my own recipe to go with my meals at home.

SUMMER VEGGIE MEDLEY

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or dutch oven.
• Add the zucchini, mushrooms, onion and spices and saute until tender.
• Add the tomatoes and mozzarella cheese and continue cooking until cheese is melted and tomatoes are warmed through.
• Top with the parmesan cheese and serve.

COLORFUL VEGETABLE MEDLEY SIDE DISH

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, heat bouillon and water for 1 minute; stir well. Stir in the salt, garlic powder, pepper and 1 teaspoon oil., In a large nonstick skillet or wok, stir-fry the broccoli, carrots, onion and celery in remaining oil for 2-3 minutes. Add the bouillon mixture; cook and stir for 3 minutes. Add zucchini and red pepper; stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cabbage; stir-fry 1-2 minutes longer or until crisp-tender.

VEGETARIAN BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spray a 3-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
• Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and salt; stir to combined.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water.
• Mix spaghetti sauce and diced tomatoes together in a medium bowl.
• Spread 1/3 of the sauce mixture in the bottom of the prepared casserole. Layer ingredients as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, 1/2 of the vegetable mixture, 1/2 of the Parmesan substitute, 1/2 of the mozzarella slices, 1/2 of the remaining sauce, all of the remaining ziti, all of the remaining vegetables, all of the remaining Parmesan substitute, and all of the remaining sauce. Set remaining mozzarella slices aside.
• Cover loosely and bake in the preheated oven until bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, uncover, and top with remaining mozzarella slices. Return to the oven and bake, uncovered, until cheese is melted and slightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes longer.