The Town Herald

The netpaper about Elftowners, by Elftowners, for Elftowners.

Beginnings and Endings, All Around!

A recipe by [Tynuka-Rhytishy]



Baked Ziti is a huge, not for the weight watchers meal. I have decided to use this as the beginnings and endings meal because from the beginning of cooking it, it makes you crave. At the ending, you want more and more but your body refuses.
For everyone I have cooked this for, they always enjoy it and I never get a complaint about it. It is also good for a few days left overs with how much I make. It’s not hard to clean afterward and if you follow the steps once, it is easy to remember!

Ingredients:
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 – 15 ounce containers of ricotta (preferred choice, I use Food Club)
• 2- 10 ounce jars of sauce (preferred choice, I use Prego)
• 2 boxes of ziti noodles (preferred choice, I use Cremette)
• Salt and pepper (pinches)
• Green pepper and onion (halves or less)
• Basil and parsley (Don’t have to use fresh, can buy the little ‘shakers’ )
• 2 packs of Mozzarella shredded cheese (preferred choice, I use Food Club)
• 1 egg
• 1 big, glass pan and 1 small, glass pan


1. Turn the heat on medium, or for you guys who aren’t used to cooking, number or notch below medium. I start boiling a big pot of water for the noodles. So, make sure it will be big enough. Turn that on high. I usually start browning my ground beef and cut up the onions and green pepper while it begins to cook. I chop the onions and peppers really fine, just to add flavor. When the meat begins to darken, you can add the pinch of salt, pepper, parsley, basil, green pepper, and onion. I always have the ‘shaker’ garlic powder, I had a few shakes here as well. You can add anything you prefer to spice the meat up. After the meat has browned thoroughly, put the meat on a plate (any) with napkins to grab the grease.

2. The water should be boiling by now, the meat takes about 15-20 minutes to cook. I use a box and a half of the ziti noodles. Turn the eye down so the noodles won’t stick. I turn it down to a bit above medium. Stir occasionally so they won’t stick. When noodles become soft, drain water from noodles. I use the same pot to mix with.

3. Preheat your oven. Bake – 350 degrees F. I butter the pans with regular butter, just coat it. Take your egg and beat it into the noodles, mix well. I then add one whole container of ricotta. Mix well with noodles. Same with a jar of sauce. (After dumping my sauce, I fill it with water to the bottom of the sticker .) Add about a quarter of the mozzarella cheese into the mixture.

4. Cover the bottom of the pan with the mixture, add some of the sauce on top of that, some ricotta and then mozzarella. Repeat with the next layer. I usually get two layers in my big pan, and one in my small pan.

5. After finishing your layers, the oven should be preheated. I put the big pan in the middle of the over and the small one on top. While this is cooking, you can make some side sauce if you prefer more sauce. It dries out some while it cooks. I bake the small ziti for about 50 minutes. I move the big ziti to the top rack in the oven while the small ziti cools off. Cook the big ziti for about 5-10 minutes. Cheese should be melted then.

6. Be sure to turn your oven off. Both zitis should be removed from oven. You can use the heated sauce to pour on top and any extra mozzarella or ricotta. Enjoy!

Notes:
This fed my father, me, boyfriend, and brother. We had enough leftovers for two days. Lunch the next day or maybe give someone else a taste.



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