Ziti

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Serves: 6-8

I like to make ziti layered, like lasagna.  This is roughly what I do:

1 pound ziti noodles

1 to 2 jars (24 oz) pasta sauce (Francesco Rinaldi is my favorite)

15 oz ricotta cheese

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 egg, optional

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook pasta al dente according to package directions.  

Meanwhile mix together ricotta cheese, 2 cups mozzarella, 2 Tbsp Parmesan, egg, garlic, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.

Grease a 9"x13" pan and spoon some sauce into pan; spread over the bottom.

When pasta is done, drain well and add half of the pasta to the baking pan.  Spread more sauce over the pasta.  Spoon all of the cheese mixture over the pasta and spread it as evenly as possible.  Add remaining pasta and spread more sauce over noodles.  Sprinkle remaining 1 cup mozzarella and 2 Tbsp Parmesan on top.  

Cover pan lightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Remove foil and cook 10 minutes more or until cheese is bubbly and golden brown around edges.  Remove from oven and allow to set for 10 minutes before serving.

Variations:

Brown 1 pound ground beef or bulk Italian sausage.  Drain liquid and mix meat into spaghetti sauce.

Cook frozen meatballs in sauce for at least 30 minutes. Leave meatballs whole, cut in half or quarters or  mash meatballs up.  It makes a tasty meat sauce!

Italian Chili

Prep Time: 4 to 8 hours

Makes: About 6 servings

I made this for our ward Halloween party and won 2nd place. I was pretty pleased about it, since I haven't won any places for several years. The last time I won, I was one of five people that brought chili and everyone won a category... I just wanted to do something a little different than the regular chili and so tried this. I think of it as a spicy version of Pasta e Fagioli.

1 lb. hot Italian sausage, casings removed*

1/2 cup water

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced**

1 medium onion, chopped**

1/2 medium bell pepper, chopped

2 cans (15 oz. each) cannellini beans (white kidney beans), drained

1 can (14.5 oz.) stewed tomatoes

1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce

1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning, crushed between palms

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. ground white pepper

Brown sausage in water over medium heat until no pink remains, stirring to break up sausage. Drain and add sausage to a large pot or crock pot. Add olive oil to saucepan used to cook sausage and saute garlic, onion, and bell pepper until tender-crisp; add to pot with sausage. Add remaining ingredients. Using kitchen shears, cut stewed tomatoes in can and add to pot. Cook on low on stove 2 to 4 hours, stirring occasionally. Cook in crock pot on high 2 to 4 hours or on low 6 to 8 hours.

Serving options:

Serve over cooked pasta

Top with shredded mozzarella cheese

Top with grated Parmesan cheese

*The chili isn't very spicy at first, but it strengthens as it cooks. It ends up being somewhat spicy and to make it more mild, use half hot and half sweet Italian sausage or just sweet Italian sausage.

**I used 1/2 tsp. dried minced garlic and 2 Tbsp. dried onion and added 1/4 cup extra water.

Post Edit (3/12/2010): I tripled this recipe (only doubled the meat) and it comes to the very top of my 6-quart Nesco roaster. I also used only sweet Italian sausage that I had precooked and sliced, then froze. I used only 2 pounds of meat, 1 cup dried onions, and 1 cup freeze-dried green peppers.

Sausage and Peppers

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4 to 6

My mother-in-law taught me this recipe. I made a few small changes to it, though.

1 to 1 1/2 pounds Italian sausage
1 Tbsp olive oil, optional
1 large onion, cut in 1/2-inch wedges
2 bell peppers (red and/or green), cut in 1/2-inch strips
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Pierce sausages with a fork. Cook either in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour (turn once) or cook in a preheated frying pan over medium-low heat, turning occasionally until medium brown. Remove sausage to a plate. Using 1 Tbsp sausage drippings or olive oil, saute onion, peppers, and garlic in same frying pan over medium-high heat until tender-crisp.

Meanwhile, slice sausage diagonally into 1/2-inch pieces. Add tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and sausage to pepper mixture and cook until heated through. Serve over hot cooked rice.

Variation: Serve over hot cooked pasta or rolls.

To make a freezer meal: Cook the sausage in the oven, then let them cool, slice them and freeze them in labeled quart-size freezer bags. Then, cut the peppers and onions and put them in another freezer bag and freeze them. Then, on cooking day, follow the recipe without thawing anything and add the tomatoes and seasonings! So easy!