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!