Baked Ziti!

Well most of you are familiar with ziti I'm sure but I've never tried to make it before and I found a really interesting (albeit simple) recipe to try. I am very excited to take this in my lunches this week! You will need:

Non stick Foil

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained

4 cups (32 oz) chunky garden style pasta sauce (I used a garlic and onion flavored sauce)

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning, divided

1 package (16 oz) ziti pasta, cooked and drained

1 package (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1 container (16 oz) ricotta cheese

1 egg

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided.

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Combine cooked beef, pasta sauce and 2 tsp Italian seasoning in large bowl. Stir cooked pasta into meat sauce; spread hal of mixture into 13x9 baking dish. Top with half of mozzarella cheese.

3. Combine ricotta, egg, 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese and remaining Italian seasoning. Spread over mozzarella cheese layer in dish. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

4. Cover with foil, non stick (dull) side towards food.

5. Bake 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking 15 minutes or until cheeses are melted and lightly browned. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

My biggest complaint with this dish is the prep and cooking time. Between the cooking time for the beef and the pasta, mixing it all together and baking it for an hour, this easily took an hour and 45 minutes. Not something that is really feasible for a weeknight dinner. It is very good, and the dish size is enormous (suggested serving size is 8) so I'll have plenty to take with me for lunch! Adding the egg really made the ricotta more spreadable. I didn't actually use all of the Italian seasoning since I don't really care for it that much.