9.07.2009

Baked Ziti


1 Medium white onion diced
5 cloves garlic minced
2 - 12 oz cans tomato sauce
1 - 12 oz can diced tomatoes
1 can crushed tomatoes (I think it only comes in big size)
16 oz fresh mozzarella sliced (as pictured below)
1 bag ziti noodles
1 bag shredded mozzarella
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 350. Boil pasta as directed. In large pot sauté onions until translucent, add garlic and cook for one minute. Add canned tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain pasta and add it to sauce. Combine well. Place a layer of pasta and sauce on bottom of deep baking dish. Layer half of fresh mozzarella over pasta. Top with second layer of pasta and cover with shredded mozzarella. Put remaining pasta on and your second half of fresh mozzarella. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is brown and bubbly on top.

Notes: I used two kinds of cheese because shredded mozzarella tends to get more gooey, and it was cheaper then doing it all with fresh. I also cooked up some shredded chicken in the same sauce and served it along side my husbands pasta so he had some meat too. I garnished with fresh basil but in the end picked it off because it just wasn't fancy enough for basil. This makes a shit ton of food and it freezes amazing if you put it in the freezer right before baking. Technically you can skip the middle layer of cheese but COME ON the more cheese the better RIGHT!



























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