<p>anyone have a good recipe?</p>
<p>I actually do 
Perfect comfort food!</p>
<p>1 (16oz) package dry ziti pasta
1 lb lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 (28oz) jars spaghetti sauce
6 oz sliced provolone cheese
6 oz sliced mozzarella cheese
1 1/2C sour cream
1/2C grated parmesan cheese
1/4 chopped fresh basil</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Bring a large pot of slightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook 8-10min or until al dente; drain.</p></li>
<li><p>In a large skillet, brown beef over med heat. Add onions; saute until tender. Drain off fat and add spaghetti sauce; simmer about 15min. Mix in sour cream.</p></li>
<li><p>Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175C).</p></li>
<li><p>In a lightly greased baking dish (I used 13x9), place about half the pasta; top with a layer of provolone and mozzarella cheese slices. Spread on a layer of half the spaghetti sauce mixture and sour cream.</p></li>
<li><p>Cover with remaining pasta, cheese and sauce; sprinkle a layer of parmesan cheese and fresh basil.</p></li>
<li><p>Bake in preheated over for about 30min or until cheese and sauce are bubbly; serve.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>You can mix this up by adding a layer of pepperoni, or using 1/2lb ground beef and 1/2 lb ground sausage. I know people that use ricotta cheese instead of the sour cream. I have five big eaters in the house and still have left-overs.</p>
<p>Wonderful, I think you just provided me with our dinner for one night this week… and probably left overs for lunch as well! lol!</p>
<p>I have never heard of sour cream in baked ziti. Only ricotta and parmesan for the filling.</p>
<p>Mine is very similar to blueiguanas, but I like cheese with a little more bite. Sometimes I’ll do a feta/mozzarella/provolone mix, other times, Emmentaler (why is that spell checked?)/mozzarella/Compte mix. We use Italian turkey sausage when we’re feeling really fancy, but otherwise we do the ground beef thing. I do add my onions in with the meat, not after.</p>
<p>Oh, and parmesan, but not ricotta as I don’t care for it.</p>
<p>I think tonight we’re having pasta e fagioli, but I’m in the mood for baked ziti so I think that will be friday’s meal.</p>
<p>If anyone would like my recipe for dinner tonight it is as follows. They say this serves four but they must be four giant people because I always have a ton of left overs.</p>
<p>1 1/3 teaspoons oil
1 lb ground beef
6 1/4 ounces carrots, slivered
5 1/3 ounces onions, chopped
6 1/4 ounces celery, diced
21 1/3 ounces diced canned tomatoes
1 cup red kidney beans
1 cup white kidney beans
39 1/8 ounces beef stock
1 1/3 teaspoons oregano
1 1/8 teaspoons pepper
2 1/4 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2/3 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
21 1/3 ounces spaghetti sauce
3 5/8 ounces dry pasta shell macaroni </p>
<p>1 Saut</p>
<p>blueiguana–funny, but it was only a few months ago that I realized the kid that doesn’t really like pasta was out of the house and I should hunt around for an easy baked pasta recipe. Yours is pretty much exactly the one I use. I’d never heard of sour cream in baked pasta either, but DH had me try it with ricotta and, honestly, we all thought the sour cream version was better.</p>
<p>And it does make a <em>lot</em>! The pan is so heavy going over to the oven, but I love that we have leftovers for at least another dinner, sometimes two.</p>
<p>I have been wondering how I could tinker with it–threw a little garlic in the last one. I’m not much of a sausage fan (outside pizza)–any other thoughts?</p>
<p>The key to ricotta is to beat in and egg for each pound of cheese; makes it very creamy.</p>
<p>We’re having lasagna tonight; first time I am using no-boil noodles.</p>
<p>This has become a family favorite - Skillet/baked pasta</p>
<p>1 tablespoon olive oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt & fresh ground pepper
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes (I like Muir Glen or Hunts with Basil)
28 water
1 lb ziti or penne
1/2 cupfat-free half and half (or cream)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup fresh basil leaf, minced
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded </p>
<ol>
<li>Preheat oven to 450.
2.Combine oil, garlic, pepper flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in 12-inch ovensafe nonstick skillet and saute over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. (If your skillet is not ovensafe, transfer the pasta mixture into a shallow 2-quart casserole dish before sprinkling with the cheese and baking).
3.Add crushed tomatoes, water, ziti and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
4.Cover and cook, stirring often and adjusting heat as needed to maintain vigorous simmer, until ziti is almost tender, 15-18 minutes.
5.Stir in cream, Parmesan, and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6.Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over ziti. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until cheese has melted and browned, about 10 minutes. </li>
</ol>
<p>Yummy -</p>
<p>My mom’s recipe is a lot like blueiguana’s…it’s DELICIOUS and also makes a TON. We make it for family gatherings (and we are big on food…we can all put it away), and we still usually have leftovers.</p>
<p>This recipe is similar to the baked five cheese pasta served at Al Forno, a well-known restaurant in Providence, RI:</p>
<p>Five Cheese Penne</p>
<p>2 cups light cream
1 cup chopped tomatoes with juices
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
1/2 cup grated fontina cheese
4 T. crumbled gorgonzola cheese
2 T. ricotta cheese
2 small fresh mozzarella balls, sliced
1 T. sea salt
6 large fresh basil leaves, torn
1 pound penne
4 T. butter, melted</p>
<p>Preheat oven to 500 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine cream, tomatoes, cheeses, salt and basil. In a large pot, boil water and cook penne for five minutes - do not follow package directions. Penne will be very al dente. Drain pasta and toss lightly with the cheese/tomato mixture. Place in a large shallow casserole dish and drizzle with melted butter. Bake, uncovered, for ten minutes.</p>
<p>The America’s Test Kitchen website (free registration) has a recipe for baked ziti that claims to “fix” all the problems with the traditional versions. If you’re familiar with ATK, you know they analyze everything to death, but come up with some great results. Might be fun to see their take on things.</p>
<p>This is my super easy way to make baked ziti</p>
<p>1 lb ziti, cooked
1 lb ground beef, cooked and I add garlic and onions</p>
<p>Add to this
2 cans of spaghetti sauce, any kind or make your own
1 lg can of mushrooms
1 container of cottage cheese
1 sm package of swiss cheese, cubed (this is my secret ingredient!)</p>
<p>Pour in a 13 x 9 pan and top with shredded mozzarella. Bake at 350 until warm, maybe an hour.</p>
<p>[I love cottage cheese](<a href=“http://www.food.com/recipe/baked-ziti-from-cooks-illustrated-354885”>http://www.food.com/recipe/baked-ziti-from-cooks-illustrated-354885</a>)</p>
<p>But I can’t eat wheat any more so I am going to try this.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I made the Cook’s Illustrated Baked Ziti in ek4’s link last night; it was really fabulous. I’ll never bother with lasagna again. (We worked our way through all six seasons of The Sopranos this winter and the ziti seemed the appropriate way to celebrate the finale.)</p>