I’ve been trying to do much better at meal planning this month, including a variety of inexpensive meals that are also packed with nutrition. I like to include a pasta dish during the week, and I selected this one because it is packed with extra tomatoes. Since my kids won’t generally eat tomatoes on their own, I though this would be a great way of getting some of this healthy vegetable (fruit) in to their tummies.
Normally when I make baked ziti, I use ricotta cheese. It is part of my Italian heritage, and it is hard to image it made any other way. My kids are more American than Italian American, though, and I thought they might like to try this version that I spotted from the Kraft company. Of course, it emphasizes the use of Kraft products, but by no means feel obligated to use any particular brand. I do recommend using good quality diced tomatoes and good prepared sauce (or substitute your own homemade sauce) for the best results.
I made this a few hours ahead and stored it in the refrigerator until dinner time.
I did alter the recipe just a little bit, but you can find the original version here.
Ingredients:
1 box of ziti pasta
1 jar (26 oz.) pasta sauce
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
6 oz. cream cheese
3/4 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
Cook the pasta in large saucepan as directed on package. Remove from pan; drain.
Next, add marinara sauce, tomatoes and cream cheese to same pa and heat on medium until cream cheese is melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently. Return pasta to pan; mix well.
Layer half the pasta mixture in 13×9-inch baking dish; cover with layers of sour cream, 1 cup mozzarella and remaining pasta mixture. Top with remaining 1 cup mozzarella and all of the parmesan.
Bake for 30 minutes.
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