Favorite Recipes: Baked Ziti

Maybe sharing my favorite pasta recipe isn’t exactly the best way to follow a post on ways to keep your kids healthy, but my kids love pasta and I suppose it’s okay in moderation, right?  Anyway, I get so many compliments on this recipe that I wanted to share it.  It can feed a ton of people and can easily be made to accommodate vegetarian and Kosher diets depending on what sauce you use.  It’s perfect for parties or unexpected company.  With football season approaching, I feel like I’m going to be making this a lot for gatherings in the very near future.  

You will need:

1 pound dry ziti pasta

3 1/2 cups tomato sauce (any kind)

16 oz mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup Romano Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Olive oil to grease pan

Salt

Red Pepper & Black Pepper (to taste)

Step 1 – Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 13×9 pan with olive oil.

Step 2 – Boil pasta until al dente.  While pasta is boiling, heat the tomato sauce, covered, over medium heat.

Step 3 – Cut off approximately one-quarter of the block of mozzarella cheese.  Cut that one-quarter into rectangular size slices.  Put to the side.  Cut the remaining three-quarters into cubes.

Step 4 – Drain pasta and return to pot.  Pour sauce on top of pasta and add cubed mozzarella (not the rectangular sliced mozzarella), 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, and 1/4 cup Romano cheese.  Stir ingredients together.

Step 5 – Add a pinch of salt, along with black pepper and red pepper to taste.  Mix.

Step 6 – Pour pasta into 13×9 pan and sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan on top of pasta.  Place rectangular size mozzarella on top!

Step 7 – Bake 30 minutes.  I like mine extra crispy on the top, so if you want to avoid that, check it at 20 minutes and consider taking it out between 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy!