Baked Ziti

We had this when we had the missionaries over for dinner--and they loved it!  Yea for another successful dish! :)  I like this one especially because it makes a 9x13 pan... we ate half of it for one sitting and had it for even yummier leftovers the next day!  Plus, it's so easy to make that your KID can make it.  :)

Preheat: 350*
Category: Italian, Pasta, Freezeable, Casserole

1 lb. Ziti pasts, cooked al dente
1 lb. Italian sausage, cooked & chopped I used ground beef cooked with a little garlic/onion/basil/oregano stirred in and that worked great.
15 oz. Ricotta cheese Another substitution! 15 oz. Cottage cheese!  We use full-fat cottage cheese...
2 T. Fresh parsley Oops, I left this out altogether. But you can use 1 T. dry parsley.
1 Egg
1 1/2 c. Mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese I buy mine at Sam's Club in the huge tubs so it's super-inexpensive!
22 oz. Pasta sauce

1/2 c. Mozzarella cheese
3/4 c. (6 oz.) Pasta sauce

1.  In a large mixing bowl, mix ricotta, egg, parsley, 1 1/2 c. mozzarella and parmesan.

2.  Add and mix in cooked sausage, cooked pasta and 22 oz. pasta sauce.

3.  Put mixture in a 2-quart casserole dish.  Like I said before, I used a 9x13 pan. It fit great!

4.  Top with 3/4 c. sauce and 1/2 c. mozzarella. You can see I tucked mine in the refrigerator for tonight... It sure is nice to have dinner "made," and it only takes 30 minutes in the oven. :) :)

5.  At 350*, bake covered for 15 minutes, then bake for another 30 minutes uncovered. If you're like me, you'll want to broil on high for another five minutes. :)

TO FREEZE
Cover the unbaked casserole with foil and freeze IN THE PAN.  When it's completely frozen, pop it out and into a freezer bag.

TO HEAT AFTER FREEZING
Place frozen casserole into dish and thaw.  Preheat to 350*.  Cover and bake for 20 minutes; uncover and bake for 10-15 minutes more.