Super Easy & Delicious!

I've looked high & low for an easy italian recipes. I think Jordan and I could both have italian almost everyday- aside from Tex-Mex, it's probably one of my favorite food "types." Does anyone remember Prego Pasta Bake? I couldn't even get a google image of the stuff, which is sad. J & I used to make it once a week or so! It was so easy & delicious, despite being chock full of preservatives and sodium. Oh, who are we kidding? I loved it, sodium and all.

So here's the closest I've come to an easy Baked Ziti recipe. Serve it up with a bowl of fresh salad and garlic bread and you've got a stick-to-your-ribs yummy meal.

Baked Ziti

1lb Ziti (I used penne rigate, but whatev!)

1 small container Ricotta Cheese

1 egg

1/2 block mozzarella cheese cut into little cubes

1/4 cup romano or parmesan cheese

1 qt homemade marinara sauce (or about 1 jar of the store variety)

A handful of shredded mozzarella

Preheat to 350 degrees. Boil pasta according to pkg directions, but remember, you'll bake it with sauce later, so make sure you boil it to al dente or you'll end up with mush at the end! Meanwhile, in another bowl, mix ricotta cheese, egg, cubed mozzarella and romano/parm cheeses (and salt & pepper to taste) until combined. Once the pasta is finished cooking, drain, rinse and mix the pasta in with the cheese mixture. Ladle some sauce into a greased baking dish (I used leftover spaghetti sauce, which is always yummier after it sits in the fridge a day or so!). Next layer is the cheese mixture. Make sure you layer these ingredients instead of mixing them together or you'll end up with lumpy pink ziti. Just imagine taking a lovely bite and appreciating the pockets of gooey cheese... not lumpy pink goo. And I digress... Keep layering sauce & cheese/pasta mix until you're out of pasta. You may have sauce left over, depends on how liberal you are with your sauce layers! Save a little for the top then sprinkle your leftover mozzarella cheese on top. Bake for 30 minutes with some greased aluminum foil on top, and when the 30 minutes is up, pull off the foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes to get the top all bubbly & brown. It'll look something like this:

Doesnt it look wonderful??? Its tasty too! Spoon up a hearty helping onto your plate and dig in! It should look something like this:

I would have taken an after shot, but there was nothing left. Yum!