Baked Ziti

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Ancient Harvest supergrain (quinoa) pasta
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 lb ground beef (or ground pork or Italian sausage, etc.)
  • a little salt
  • ½ to 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 to 4 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 tbsp (or more!) fresh rosemary and/or basil and/or oregano
  • ½ tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 large jar of marinara sauce
  • your choice of vegetables, medium-to-large-dice: bell peppers, zucchini, spinach, etc.
  • 15oz tub of ricotta cheese
  • shredded mozzarella cheese
  • shredded parmesan cheese

Instructions

In a large pot, boil pasta uncovered, to al dente, then drain and toss with a little olive oil.

In a large saute pan, on medium-high heat, warm up olive oil. Add the meat and salt, break it up, and when it is mostly browned, stir in the onion. Saute 4 to 5 minutes until onions are translucent and beginning to brown.

Stir in garlic, herbs, and pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute, then stir in sauce and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a 9 x 13-inch casserole pan, start building layers:

  1. the meat sauce you just made (thin layer)
  2. ricotta cheese (just dots, don’t try to spread it)
  3. vegetables
  4. the meat sauce mixed with the pasta
  5. more vegetables
  6. more meat sauce mixed with the pasta
  7. more ricotta
  8. shredded mozzarella
  9. grated parmesan

Bake until top is nicely browned, about 20 minutes.


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