Thursday, January 9, 2014

Sbarro Baked Ziti Copycat Recipe

In the last month Penny and I have taken a couple mama-daughter dates and headed out to the mall. Not to do Christmas shopping, mind you. I *hate* shopping at the mall. Our business was needed at the jeweler for my semi-annual check up and a watch battery replacement. So I took that opportunity of a "trip into town" and also hit up the fabric store and timed our visit to the mall with lunch and a much needed trip to the indoor playground so that Miss Penny can get some energy out!

After about 45 minutes of running, giggling, climbing, crawling and sliding, the both of us were really ready for lunch. Sbarros is one of the very few 'fast food' joints I'll eat at and thankfully our mall has one. Their combo meal isn't a bad deal, but as a single income family I'm always on the look out for cutting down our expenses but coming up with ways of still getting those 'treats' we were accustomed to when we were DINKYs (dual-income no kids).

So while I've been trying for 2 years to get my pizza dough recipe down and still not getting the thumbs up from the hubs, I knew that I could do something about that baked ziti I always get as a side when we go to Sbarros.

You will need:
1 box of ziti pasta
1 15 oz can of organic tomato sauce
1/4 teaspoon of freshly grated pepper
salt to taste
2 cups of ricotta cheese
2 cups of shredded fresh mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

You will do:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook the ziti to al dente. Drain the water, but do not rinse the noodles!
3. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a non-reactive bowl, save about 1/4c of the tomato sauce.
4. Add in the ziti and mix well.
5. Dump into a 13x9" baking dish and pour the remaining sauce on top.
6. Bake for about 13-15 minutes, until the cheese is melted.

A reader's tip: If you are preparing this for a freezer meal, line the pan with tinfoil first. Freeze, and once solid remove the frozen ziti with tinfoil liner and wrap / fit into a freezer bag. That way you don't have to keep your baking dish frozen, and it will fit perfectly into it when you are ready!

buon appetito!

17 comments:

  1. this looks so good! Our 4yr old doesn't like pasta and so we don't eat it much but this might just have to happen anyway lol.

    thanks for sharing.

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  2. Yum! Thank you for sharing! I'm always up for a pasta recipe. :)

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  3. We are HUGE Italian eaters in this family because my husband is Italian and who doesn't like PASTA??! Thank you for the easy and yummy looking recipe, will def be making it..

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  4. yummy! I love new pasta recipes!! thanks!

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  5. I've been looking for a good freezer meal. Thanks for sharing.
    Another one I like is from the Pioneer Woman. I think it's called thew Sour Cream Pasta Bake? You can google it but it's delish.

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  6. That sounds delicious. I think I just need ot go buy some ricotta and can make that for supper!

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  7. I have a problem with ricotta cheese. I could eat it allllllll day on everything lol. This looks delish and I could put way to much in the pasta! lol

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  8. Looks yummy! My mother makes the most awesome baked ziti.....and I always eat waaaaaay to much lol

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  9. I'm 36 weeks pregnant and this seems like a great recipe to make ahead of time and freeze for when baby's born :) I might have to try that freezer tip too.

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  10. Look good, I will definatley like to try this.

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  11. I have honestly never had baked ziti before! I might have to try this.

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  12. This sounds so good. I love that you can freeze this. It would be great to make two and freeze one for a later time

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  13. This looks amazing! I'm not a very good Italian cook so I can use any and all help I can get. I think we will be trying this out soon. =)

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  14. Mmm!! This looks fantastic!! I have never had Sbarro before but I trust that its fabulous!!

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  15. This looks like a yummy winter meal to try!

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  16. Look yummy! We love Italian food and it looks like one that freezes well too!

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  17. This looks so yummy!

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