Fake-Baked Ziti

For Valentine's Day, I wanted to make something rich for The Mr.  He loves pasta-- add cheese and sausage, and I've got a happy husband.  So, I went skimming through my Allrecipes.com recipe box and found the perfect one.  Baked Ziti!  Yum!

Made the list.
Clipped the coupons.
Went to the store.
Got a migraine.

::::insert sad sound effect from The Price is Right:::::

While at the store (and ready to throttle a couple of kids screaming for no damn reason whatsoever) I couldn't find ziti pasta.  Anywhere.  I must have looked a little helpless standing in the pasta aisle for 5 minutes, pacing the shelves in search of a pasta that now I'm SURE doesn't even exist! By the time I got home, my stomach was beginning to feel nauseous (as a result of the headache) and all I wanted to do was lie down.

So I did.  And The Mr. bought take-out for the two of us.

Fast forward to this evening-- We enjoyed our Valentine's Dinner one day late (and one major ingredient off) but it was a wonderful dinner nonetheless.  So what if I used rigatoni?  Fake-Baked Ziti was a hit!

Now... if all those dishes would wash themselves... THAT would be a great Valentine's Day gift! :)


Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta (But you already know I used rigatoni for this one)

1 pound mild Italian sausage

2 (24 ounce) jars marinara sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil, divided

12 ounces ricotta cheese

1 1/2  teaspoons Italian seasoning, divided

1 dash salt and pepper

1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.



2.  Cook sausage in a skillet over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.

3.  In a large saucepan, heat marinara with 1 teaspoon basil until bubbling. In a medium bowl, mix together ricotta, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.


4.  Spread bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with sauce. Begin adding layers

• 1/2 of the ziti (or rigatoni, in my case),
• 1/2 the sausage,
• 1/2 of the ricotta mixture,
• 1/2 the mozzarella.
• Spoon half of the sauce over top. Repeat layers.

Note:  Since the rigatoni ended up to be rather large, I used the largest baking dish I had... which was a 10" x 14"Pyrex dish. 

5.  Sprinkle top with remaining 1/2 teaspoons basil and Italian seasoning.

6.  Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes.

Verdict: Keeper!

And next time, I hope to use real ziti pasta!  :)

Also, I may get adventurous and add some onion and garlic to the sausage mixture, just to kick up the flavor factor.  But as it is, this is a yummy addition to the recipe box