Does anyone have a really good baked ziti recipe?!
Does anyone have a really good baked ziti recipe?
I'm looking for a really good, cheesy baked ziti recipe.
Answers:
This is my recipe, I make it all the time and my husband loves it as do my co-workers. I hope you try it, plus it's easy as anything.
This is most basic recipe, I will floow up with other things you can do too.
1 box ziti (or make it proportionate to how many people you are serving. I always make al ot so we can have it for 2 nights and for lunches, we like it that much)
salt and pepper
1/2 tablespoon each: garlic powder, onion powder, italian seasoning
a handful dried parsley
1 to 2 jars of spaghetti sauce, whatever you like or home made
1 med onion, diced small
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
1 bag shredded mozzerella cheese and 1 bag italian mix cheese
Make noodles, drain, do not rinse. Heat some olive oil and saute the garlic and onions for 5 minutes and add the meat and all the spices, brown and drain, set aside.
In a large bowl mix everything, the meat, noodles, sauce (as much as ytou need to make it moist) and the cheeses. Put into a baking dish and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until bubbling hot at 350.
You can also do this with italian sausage thats crumbled or sliced into chunks. You could also use ground turkey or chicken. You could add a can of mushrooms to this mixture also. After you mix it all, you could do a layer in your baking pan and then a layer of ricotta cheese and keep layering ending with pasta on top. (I like to add saly, pepper, parsley, garlic powder and onion powder to my ricotta, keep the flavors consistant)
Have fun and happy cooking!!
Rachael Ray has a great one. I made it for a church pot luck and everyone loved it.
this isn't a traditional baked ziti recipe, but the best i've ever had. it's kind of like a lasagne, but better. even people who don't like eggplant have asked me for the recipe. once you try it, you'll be hooked.
Eggplant, Sausage, and Ziti Casserole
1 large eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/3-inch thick rounds
1/2 cup olive oil, plus more as needed
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 pound Italian sausage, removed from casings
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (28-ounce) can whole Italian tomatoes, crushed, and their juices
1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
1/2 cup pitted black olives, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup minced fresh basil leaves
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups whole milk
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
8 ounces ziti, cooked according to package directions and drained
1 cup grated mozzarella
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 by 13-inch casserole dish and set aside.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1/4 cup of the oil. Add the eggplant in batches, seasoning on both sides with salt and pepper, and cook until golden, adding more oil as needed. Transfer to a plate as they cook, and set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot but not smoking, add the onion and sausage, and cook, stirring, until the sausage is browned and the onion is soft, about 6 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, until it begins to brown, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, their juices, the Italian seasoning, black olives, 1 teaspoon of salt, and the crushed red pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer, uncovered, until the flavors marry and the sauce slightly thickens, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the basil and adjust seasoning, to taste.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and forms a light roux, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk and, whisking frequently, cook until the sauce is thickened and smooth, about 4 minutes.
Remove from the heat and season with the nutmeg and salt and pepper, to taste.
Arrange half of the eggplant slices on the bottom of the casserole, overlapping as necessary. Top with half of the cooked pasta, then half of the sausage-tomato sauce. Place another layer of eggplant slices on top of the sauce, then layers of pasta and sausage-tomato sauce. Pour on the white sauce, then top with the grated mozzarella and Parmesan.
Bake for 1 hour, or until puffed and golden brown on top.
Homemade Baked Ziti:
1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, sliced and diced
1 green pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed
1 pint mushrooms, sliced
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste or 2 (12 ounce) cans tomato sauce
oregano
basil
italian seasoning
2 bay leaves
fresh parmesan cheese, grated
black pepper, ground
soy sauce
chili flakes
1 box ziti pasta
1 package mozzarella cheese, sliced
salt
canola oil
1. Preheat oven to 350 F To make the sauce: First, brown the ground beef and Port. Sausage in separate frying pans over medium heat. Make sure the beef is in a large frying pan, and drain the fat. When the sausage is done, pat it dry with paper towels to remove the grease. When the beef is just about done, grind the pepper over the beef, probably about 1 Tbsp worth.
2. Add about 1/2 to 1 Tbsp soy sauce and mix it in to the beef.
3. You can replace the soy sauce with salt, but it adds a nice zing to the flavor.
4. At this point, I usually cut the onion into chunks and throw it into my Cuisinart with the garlic, and shred them to bits, and toss them in.
5. But sliced into small bits works well also.
6. Add the onion and garlic, and let cook down (covered) until the onion gets a little clear.
7. I add a little oil here sometimes, depending on how much fat was in the meat. Add the tomato paste, and mix it in.
8. I do the paste first because it makes it faster and easier to get the consistency right when the sauce comes in.
9. Add the sauce and mix it well.
10. Add generous amounts of the oregano and Italian Seasoning.
11. Don't go overboard on the basil though.
12. Add the bay leaves.
13. Let it simmer.
14. Mix it, and let it simmer longer.
15. Start the water boiling for the ziti.
16. Add some salt and oil to the water to make it boil quicker, and to help keep the zitis from sticking.
17. Throw the green pepper, sausage, and mushrooms into the sauce. Next stir about 4 or 5 Tbsp Parmesan cheese in to the sauce. When the ziti is done, drain them and dump into a large rectangular Pyrex.
18. I don't remember the exact size, but I think its around 9x18.
19. You may have a touch too many zitis, but they are delicious plain, so eat any extras.
20. Once the Parmesan has melted into the sauce and made it stringy, and the sauce has thickened, stir the sauce into the zitis.
21. Mix it all well.
22. Now, lay the sliced mozzarella over the ziti like shingles on a roof.
23. Sprinkle over some more Parmesan, maybe a Tbsp.
24. Bake at 350F for 45 min - 1 hour.