Sunday Night Dinner

Sunday night is a great night to have friends over....

Menu for this past Sunday was Baked Ziti and Ceasar Salad!

Ceasar Salad was really simple. I use yogurt dressing from whole foods which is my favorite and the only new addition was homemade croutons. I used my husband's sandwhich bread (Smart White bread) and cut it into 1/2 inch chungs and sprayed them with a little bit of pam. I then used Salt-free italian seasoning and toasted them in the oven at 150 for abotu 5 minutes. Super easy and of course no need to buy extra ingredients!

Baked Ziti (husband style)
The reason I say this is because I would normally use frozen spinach instead of sausage... but because my husband is a meat eater, we sometimes have to give a little...

1 lb of ziti ( I used penne because we had it on hand)
1 28 oz can of diced or crushed tomatoes (no salt added)
1 14 oz can of tomato sauce (no salt added)
1 tbsp. minced garlic
3 italian sausage links (we prefer chicken sausage which tastes almost the same)
1/2 cup of part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup of part skim mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp of dried or fresh basil

Boil 1 lb of ziti for approximatly 6 minutes - just al dente... .reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water(then drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process)

Put 1 tbsp of garlic in pot and cook until fragrant. Pour the tomato sauce and diced or crushed tomatoes into the pot with the garlic and cook on medium-low for about 10 minutes. Mix in 1 tbsp of basil in the mixture and cook for about 2 minutes.

While the tomato mixture is cooking...dice the sausage links and brown them in the skillet. Once completed mix them in with the tomato sauce. Add the drained pasta and 1/4 cup of pasta water. Combine off heat.

Put in baking dish - approximatly 9 by 13.

Now here is the secret.
Bury a tablespoon of Ricotta in mutliple place throughout the baking dish, then cover with pasta mixture. This makes the inside when baked cheesy and moist!

Spring the 1/2 cup of mozzarella on top of the dish and bake at 350 degrees for approximatly 30 minutes till crispy and brown.

ENJOY!