Ingredients:
- A box of Ziti noodles (my local stores don't carry it, Mostaccioli works just as well!)
- 2 jars of your favorite red sauce (I like to use tomato and basil)
- A package of shredded mozzarella cheese
- A package of sliced provolone sandwich cheese
- Parmesan cheese. (You can use shredded but the powdered kind is just fine too!)
- 16 oz sour cream
Alright so before we really dig in, you want to set a pot of water to boil, make sure it is big enough to cook the entire box of noodles. After that, things move super fast and you really have only about 10 minuets of wait time.
- Preheat over to 350 degrees
- Add box of noodles to the boiling pot of water, and cook for about 7-10 minuets until the noodles are al dente (see glossary term at the end of the recipe)
- Once the noodles are cooked, pour them into a strainer and rinse with cold water until they're luke warm.
- Next, get out a baking pan, one you might use for other kinds of casserole, or cakes, etc. and cover the bottom with the cooled noodles.
- Add on a layer of sauce, covering the noodles.
- Place the provolone cheese around the pan on top of the noodles and sauce.
- Next add on a nice thick layer of sour cream. (Helpful Hint: I like to spread the sour cream on each slice of provolone before putting it into the pan. I learned the hard way what it's like to spread sour cream onto something that is slippery underneath! )
- Add another layer of noodles, and another layer of sauce.
- The next layer is a nice, thick spread of mozzarella cheese, don't be afraid to cover it all!
- Layer on the last of the noodles, and the rest of the sauce once more time.
- Finally cover the top with the Parmesan, as much or as little as you like, it doesn't matter a whole lot, do it to taste!
When you're all done, put it in the over for 10 minuets, just util it starts to boil at the top a little and the cheese melts. Remove from the oven and serve it up!
As you can see, it DOES NOT come out in a nice layer like a lasagna would, but that's alright, everything still mixes really well together and is still FABULOUS to taste!
LEFTOVERS!!!!: Not only can one box of noodles in this dish feed a few people but there is enough to feed a TON of people! Even when I feed close to seven people on one box (three of which have massive appetites) I still have left overs! This lasts us for a good long while, its wonderful to bring to work or school and its so good cold or hot!
Who will like this:
- People who do not like sour cream!!!: I have a very good friend who loves this meal. I fed this to him several times before I discovered he didn't like sour cream. I asked if he knew I had it in the Baked Ziti and he was floored, he said he couldn't taste it at all. Even now, knowing its in there, he still loves it!
- Children: It's cheesy, ooey, gooey and strings out like mozzarella, so it's really fun. The noodles are small too so that helps kids approach this new dinner idea more easily.
GLOSSARY TERM!!!!!
For those of you who don't know what "al dente" means. Here is the definition directly from BusyCooks.about.com
Al dente refers to the desired texture of cooked pasta in Italian cooking. It literally means "to the tooth". When the pasta is cooked al dente, there should be a slight resistance in the center when the pasta is chewed.
That is it for tonight, my loves! Cook, and cook for the love of it! Feel free to ask any questions you might have right here OR... on the Simple Cooking Facebook group page! Come join the fun and the conversation! See you all later!
~Alex~
