If you look at the ingredients listed below, don't get scared of the long list. It's a pretty quick dish that can be done in 30 minutes of stove top time and 30 minutes of oven time. I described this Ziti as cheesy and saucy because this pasta dish is full of spicy pasta sauce and creamy ricotta cheese. I served it with a green salad and some bread to round out the meal. It was so delicious... making two meals out of it in one day was a tasty decision.
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Ingredients:
1lb box Ziti Pasta (boiled to al dente) drained (see notes below)
Prepared pasta sauce (see recipe below)
P portion ricotta mixture (see recipe below)
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
Ingredients for pasta sauce:
1lb lean ground beef (or chicken, turkey, pork, lamb)
1 (32 oz) can of crushed tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can of crushed tomatoes (or diced tomatoes if your want texture)
3-4 cloves garlic minced or grated
1 green bell pepper diced small
1 medium onion diced small
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
red chili flakes (to taste)
1-2 Tbs sugar (to taste)
salt and black pepper to taste
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup starchy pasta water reserved from boiling pasta
Ricotta mixture:
1 24 oz package ricotta cheese or cottage cheese (cottage cheese is usually less expensive)
1 egg
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
salt and black pepper
Directions:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCC9GQDlESLMySMdfJrLKekNZWYEpRZqxOL6bfTCVwsgcfNyu08opAgQP6QLh7TMzrGEfZY-iV5EsncxPW5UnHgAsfFRHdSeNxBPb4Sj_XbcG4NhMCMfn3fpWBsz5yLLuZjhEyyUH8u5s/s200/100_6025.jpg)
Make Ricotta mixture by mixing all ingredients together. Set aside.
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![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2t7JTORhln09D5eft7azsOrkidXEwrVHIqBuAaVNgy-xu854uJoHPtuLxVNSzW55PYVVVpHXSzzoUnOH2WV-gu4nIOF2QT9fiRsV_AxIg-OPbpassGtzf8_5Ohm7IrwBimnmBe8W-994/s200/100_6965.jpg)
To make Ziti, mix cooked pasta with 3/4 of prepared sauce, 1/3 of the prepared ricotta mixture and 1/2 cup of the
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