Easy Baked Ziti

I wanted to make something different with ground beef. This was the a great idea and we had plenty of leftovers!

Brandie from The Country Cook posted this recipe in 2011. 



Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1 24 ounce jar of your favorite sauce ( we love three cheese sauce)*

1 16 ounce jar Garlic Alfredo sauce

1 16 ounce box of ziti

1/2 of a large onion- diced

2-3 cups shredded  mozzarella cheese


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F or 177 C

Prepare a 9 x 13 baking dish with non stick spray and set aside.

In a large saucepan brown beef with the onion over medium heat. When beef has browned, drain off excess grease.  Once drained add beef back to the pan and add the whole jar of the sauce.

Cook the pasta ( according to the direction on the box or bag) in a large pot of boiling water and when the pasta is finished cooking, drain  and set aside.

Place the cooked pasta back in the large pot and pour the alfredo sauce over it. Stir to make sure all the pasta is thoroughly coated. 

Place the coated pasta in the prepared baking dish.

Sprinkle with mozzarella**

Add the meat/sauce mixture to the top of the pasta in the baking dish.

Add more mozzarella to the top of the dish and cover with aluminum foil.

Place in the preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes

Remove from the oven and carefully remove the foil from the pan. Place the pan back in the oven for another 15 minutes.

Take it out of the oven after it has completed baking and let it cool for 4-5 minutes.

* Brandi has an extra jar of sauce heating up in the pot the pasta was cooked. If you like extra sauce- great idea.

** Gabe and I love cheese so I added an additional layer of cheese between the pasta and sauce and added more mozzarella to the top of the ziti.


Featured 11/23/15 on happiness is homemake