I usually HATE cooking! But this... well it was fun!

Ok so at the urging of my friend who told me this was an easy recipe. I tried it.. here are my results.. ALL pictures are what I took of the process and the final result. It was pretty tasty, and it was really easy!

Baked Ziti

For variety, add one half cup chopped fresh basil, or eight ounces Italian sausage meat, cooked and crumbled, to the ricotta layer. ( Or Vegetables, eggplant or zucchini cook well with this)

Prep: 40 minutes (Cooking ziti plus throwing together all ingredients into baking dish)
Bake: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
Marinara Sauce (approximately 3.5 cups)
16 oz. ziti (approx 450g)
15 oz. part skim ricotta cheese (approx. 425g)
1/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt (If you like it saltier, double this to 1/2 tsp.)
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded (approx. 225g)

*If you want to go all out, shred your own cheese, but if not, the bag kind tastes just as good and is fast ;)

Aussies : A good substitute for marinara here in Oz is the Latina Fresh Tomato & garlic sauce (in the refrigerator section)

1. Cook the pasta as label directs, drain.
2. Preheat oven to 350F or 175C. In large bowl, combine pasta and marinara sauce, stirring to coat. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, Parmesan, and salt (and meat/or veggies). Spoon half of pasta into 13''x9'' baking dish. Spread evenly with ricotta mixture,





and top with remaining pasta.



3. Cover ziti with foil and bake 20 minutes.

Remove foil and sprinkle with mozzarella.





Bake until cheese has melted, about 10 minutes longer. Makes 8 main-dish servings.




Thanks, Jen, for the recipe!!!