As an Italian American I love my Italian foods. Especially anything with pasta… and cheese… and sauce. We recently went to an Italian restaurant and their sauce was SO good I asked for a side of sauce to dip my bread in. They didn’t disappoint and brought me sauce with fresh bread. It was SO yummy. I remember growing up my MomMom would always make sauce and we would always sneak in while it was on the stove to stick our bread in it while it was cooking.

Such great memories come to mind when I think of something as simple as spaghetti and sauce.

Bringing people to the table is important and I know the best way to do that is with good food. So, I recently made some yummy baked ziti that was simple and perfect for a weeknight meal. This does require more than one pot but it is well worth it!

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. beef

• Olive Oil

• Minced Garlic

• 2 Cans Tomato Sauce

• Parsley

• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

• Half a Pound of Rigatoni

• 1 1/2 Cups Ricotta Cheese

Directions:

1. Cook the beef all the way through. Put in sprayed casserole dish.

2. Bring water to a boil, and cook pasta about 9 minutes. This is a thicker pasta so it won’t be all the way cooked, but it will be cooked enough and will cook the rest in the oven.

3. Put pasta into casserole dish.

4. Put 1/2 Cup Mozzarella to the side. Top the pasta and beef with ricotta and mozzarella and garlic and parsley. Mix everything together.

5. Once combined then top dish with saved mozzarella.

6. Cook at 350 for about 30 minutes until everything is ooey, gooey, and baked to perfection!

7. Serve with… bread and butter because you’ll want to dip that bread into the leftover sauce on the plate!

8. Yum!

Don’t forget to tag me if you make this recipe! @emilyrose_parkins and share with a friend!