Baked Ziti.

This baked ziti is a classic midweek meal, which is a lot like lasagna. The best (well there are many really) part about this meal? You can make it ahead, freeze it, and it’s still fab when you cook it- also, it’s impossible to screw this “recipe” up and you can add in all kinds of things if you want, it's that basic. 


Consider this your “little black dress” of meals, it works for everything. 


Ingredients. 

1 (16 oz) package of ziti or fusilli pasta
2 cups of ricotta cheese
2 (24 oz) jars of marinara sauce
Fresh Mozzarella or Shredded Mozz (as much as you want)
Parmesan for topping


Optional: meatballs, meat sauce, chopped veggies, sausage.


Directions.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees


Prepare the pasta, undercooking it just a little. Drain the hot pasta and pour it back into the warm pot.


Stir in the ricotta and one jar of the marinara, mix until it is blended. Toss in a bit of the mozzarella cheese- stir to combine. If you are using the optional add in ingredients, put those in now and stir.


In a rectangular pan, pour in just enough marinara to lightly coat the bottom. Top with the pasta/cheese mixture. Sprinkle or place the extra mozzarella on top of the pasta.


Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is bubbling. Serve warm with extra marinara, garlic bread, and salad.