Baked Ziti is a perennial favorite, especially among husbands and children! You can’t go wrong! Especially when you add ground beef and Italian Sausage!
The key here is to make 2 casseroles-1 to employ NOW and 1 for the BANK (the freezer)!
Here is a good recipe to use which I adapted from Rao’s Lasagne Recipe!
I’m going to double it, make 2 batches, 1 for now and 1 for the freezer. Obviously, if you only need 1, just half it.
Beefy Baked Ziti
1 pound ground beef
Salt and pepper
1 pound sweet or hot Italian Sausage
2 small onions, minced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry red wine
4 cans San Marzano tomatoes (28-32 ounces each)
2 pounds ziti or rigatoni
2 pounds fresh mozzarella
1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (I prefer Stravecchio Romano)
1. Heat 1/2 c. oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté for about 3 minutes. Stir in the beef and sauté for 5 minutes or until well browned. Remove the beef with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add the sausage to the saucepan and sauté until browned. Return beef to the saucepan.
2. Add the wine to the saucepan and cook for about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the tomatoes. Add salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 mins to an hour, until it’s as thick as you like it.
4. Bring a large, deep pot of water to boil. Add the ziti or rigatoni, a couple of pinches of salt and boil for 6 minutes, keeping in mind this pasta is also going to bake in the oven. Drain and set aside.
5. Preheat oven to 400.
6. Toss pasta with sauce and pour into casserole. Top with mozzarella, then sprinkle with Parmesan.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbly.
Now, if you followed directions and MADE the whole recipe for 2 casseroles-BRAVO!! Well Done!
If you only need 1- BRAVO for you, too!
I’ve spoken with friends who are freezer afficianadoes and they claim that the singular, most important thing you MUST do when freezing is to cover your merchandise WELL.
That means, cover the entire casserole all the way around, multiple times, so as to avoid freezer burn.
After all of this work, you want to pull out nothing short of a winner on that December day!
I cover the first 2 layers with Press’nSeal by Glad and then I follow it with 2 layers of foil and deposit it in the BANK!
***When cooking from refrigerated or frozen, after the pasta comes to room temperature, cover with foil and bake @ 400 for 30 minutes, then uncover to lightly brown, another 10-15 minutes.
Try my Beefy Baked Ziti! You’ll be so glad you did!
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