Baked Ziti

Man do I have a recipe for you today. Recently I have been trying out quite a few new recipes and let me tell, none have knocked my socks off until last night. That is saying a lot coming from someone who has zero appetite the majority of the time because of my Crohns disease and the ugly flare that I am battling. This recipe though, oh my goodness, it was delicious. So delicious that my Mom had two helpings as did my dear husband. Daniel started off with his regular portion size and for round two he came back to the table with a heap of ziti on his plate. This will definitely go into rotation at our house, especially since it was so easy to put together. Seeing as by most evenings I've hit my maximum energy level and have started going downhill, easy is always best for me. It's always a plus that easy also equals totally awesome! Serve alongside some hot from the oven garlic bread, a fresh green salad, and a tall glass of wine and you my friends, would have a lovely date night dinner.

Baked Ziti

~Source: allrecipes.com

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-ziti-iv/detail.aspx

Ingredients:

1 lb. dry ziti pasta

1 1/2 tsp. olive oil

1 onion, sliced

1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 lb. ground beef

1/2 lb. ground pork sausage

1 1/2 jars (26oz) spaghetti sauce

salt to taste

1 (6oz.) package of provolone cheese, sliced

3/4 cup sour cream

3/4 cup cottage cheese

1 (6oz.) package mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.) Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.

2.) Meanwhile, heat olive oil in large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Cook onion in oil until tender. Stir in rosemary and garlic. Transfer to a small bowl.

3.) Place ground beef and sausage in the skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Stir in the onion mixture and spaghetti sauce. Season with salt. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes.

4.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. In the prepared dish, layer 1/2 of the cooked pasta, provolone cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, and a little less than 1/2 of the meat mixture. Then layer the rest of the pasta, mozzarella cheese, remaining meat mixture, and parmesan cheese.

5.) Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until heated through and cheeses are melted.

* Since we all know I can't follow directions well enough to save my life, here we go with how I made this dish. First of all, I cooked the onion and garlic along with the meat mixture also meaning I didn't need the olive oil the recipe called for. I omitted the rosemary for the simple fact of I just don't like the stuff. Also, I did two layers of the cheeses, sour cream, and cottage cheese. I just split all of it in half. Lastly, just in case you wondered, I used probably about 3/4 of a 45 oz. jar of Prego Meat Sauce.

I can't stress to you guys enough that you must try this dish. As I sit here typing up this post, at almost midnight thank you...why is this Mother not in bed, I am salivating at the thought of having this for lunch tomorrow. Yes folks, it is that good!