MiMi's Baked Ziti

     Another month means another Foodie Extravaganza!  Where has the time gone?  I don't know about you but this year has been flying by and I feel like it is only speeding up.  Busy busy busy!  Oh well, I suppose that is better than nothing to do.  Though there are definitely days I am not so sure!  Anyway, this month's theme is noodles.  So we all got to put on our thinking caps to do something fun with noodles or pasta.  I love pasta, so it seemed to be an easy task.  I would have loved to do something fun and out of the ordinary, but I am barely keeping ahead of things right now and work has been keeping me on my toes lately.  So, I pulled this recipe card out of my recipe box.  Baked ziti sounded great anyway and this version is a hit every time MiMi makes it.  It was delicious, even if not the most photogenic dish you've seen!   The good news is the other folks in the group made some dishes that sound really fun, so if you were hoping for something a bit more exotic you are still in luck!

     While I was making this, I went ahead and put together a second pan to drop of to our friends who just had a baby.  You may remember Ro from her baby shower post.  Well the little guy is finally here and he is a cutie!  They just got home from the hospital a few days ago, so I offered to drop off a dinner.  I ended up making theirs meat free because they were planning to eat it on a Friday during Lent.  So, I followed the same basic recipe, but added a little spinach to the sauce for the middle layer and some extra cheese to help make it filling enough without the meat.  Ro's favorite food is cheese, so this substitution was more than fine with her!  It made a perfect meal to assemble ahead of time and drop off for them.  I also made them a loaf of homemade bread and a sweet treat that I hope to share tomorrow.  I hope they enjoyed it all!

     I put our pan in the oven while Jax and Matt went to look at farm toys with Jax's grandpa.  It gave me time to run around the house and get a few things done.  Like pack for the conference I was headed off to.  You'd think packing for one of these things would become routine, but I always put it off until the last minute!  They came home and we all had a hot dinner ready to go.  The best part is there were plenty of leftovers so Matt and Jax could just heat some up for dinner one night while I was gone.  They like to fend for themselves for a night or two, but I always try to leave something easy and "heat and eat" for them in the fridge too.

Printable Recipe

MiMi's Baked Ziti

Serves 10

     Ingredients:

1 lb dry ziti pasta (ziti was surprisingly hard to find here, but rigatoni or penne works fine)
1 onion, chopped
1 lb lean ground beef
2 (24 oz) jars spaghetti sauce
6 oz provolone cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 T Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and butter a 9x13" baking dish.
2. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil and cook ziti until al dente.  Drain and set aside.
3. In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat.  Add spaghetti sauce and simmer 15 minutes.
4. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture.  Top with Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheeses are melted. (If you made it ahead of time, pull casserole out of the refrigerator while the oven preheats and bake 40 minutes or so or until heated through and bubbly.)