Baked Ziti

By dorchuk

Ingredients

• 2 1/3 cups uncooked ziti pasta (8 oz)
• 1 lb bulk Italian pork sausage
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 can (18 oz) Progresso™ Recipe Starters™ fire roasted tomato cooking sauce
• 1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves or 2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1 cup ricotta cheese*
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 oz)
• 1 Heat oven to 375°F. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package.
• 2 Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, cook sausage and garlic over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to break up sausage, until sausage is no longer pink. Add cooking sauce, onion, basil, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and the cooked pasta; stir well.
• 3 In small bowl, mix ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and egg.
• 4 Spoon pasta mixture into ungreased 11x7-inch (2-quart) glass baking dish. Spoon ricotta cheese mixture on top; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
• 5 Cover casserole with foil spayed with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, removing foil last 10 minutes of bake time, until cheese melts and mixture is hot and bubbly.
• Expert Tips
• Instead of ricotta cheese, you can substitute 3/4 cup cottage cheese and increase Parmesan cheese to 1/2 cup.

Preparation

Step 1

Heat oven to 375°F. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package.
Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, cook sausage and garlic over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to break up sausage, until sausage is no longer pink. Add cooking sauce, onion, basil, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and the cooked pasta; stir well.
In small bowl, mix ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and egg.
Spoon pasta mixture into ungreased 11x7-inch (2-quart) glass baking dish. Spoon ricotta cheese mixture on top; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
Cover casserole with foil spayed with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, removing foil last 10 minutes of bake time, until cheese melts and mixture is hot and bubbly.

Expert Tips

*Instead of ricotta cheese, you can substitute 3/4 cup cottage cheese and increase Parmesan cheese to 1/2 cup.