Baked Ziti

 

Ingredients:

• 1 pound dry ziti pasta (or really any kind of pasta would work- I actually used Penne pasta)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 pound lean ground beef (season with pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and minced garlic)
• 2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
• 8 slices provolone cheese
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 7-8 minutes; drain.
• In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat
• Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
• Spray 2 8x8 inch pans with non-stick cooking spray.
• Layer as follows in each pan: 1/4 of the ziti, 1/4 of the sauce, 4 slices of Provolone cheese, 1/2 of sour cream, 1/4 of ziti, 1/4 mozzarella cheese and 1/4 of sauce mixture.
• Top with grated Parmesan cheese and remaining mozzarella cheese.

When you are ready to eat it, remove from the freezer and place in the fridge to thaw 24 hours in advance. By allowing it to thaw in the fridge, you can cook it at the regular time and temperature (350 degrees for about 30 minutes). If you do not thaw it in advance, it will take much longer to cook. If you cook it completely frozen, it will take anywhere from 90 minutes - 2 hours to cook all the way through.

 

These fill the 8x8" pans to the top, so I cooked mine on a large cookie sheet just in case they bubbled over.