A very classic pasta recipe with a vegetarian twist! The more veggies you pack into these (both the omni and veg versions), the better, in my opinion. Feel free to leave out or add fillers at your discretion; the ones I list below are merely suggestions. This dish can be easily frozen for meals the next day… or, at this rate, the whole week! Especially easy for packing work or school lunches.
For this recipe, you will need two 9″ by 9″ dishes to accommodate one meat ziti and one veggie ziti. This makes enough for about 8 servings of each dish.
Ingredients
* 16 oz package ziti
* ½ lb. lean ground beef (omni)
* 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 4 cups tomato sauce
* oregano to taste
* basil to taste
* salt to taste
* 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
* any other veggies you might like, chopped (ideas: broccoli florets, cauliflower, squash, zucchini, mushrooms…) (veggie)
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the ziti and cook for about 8 minutes. The ziti should be slightly undercooked and chewy. Drain; set aside.
3a. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the beef with half the onion and garlic. Stir in half the tomato sauce, herbs, and salt.
3b. In a second skillet, sauté the rest of the vegetables with a touch of olive oil. Stir in the other half of the tomato sauce, herbs, and salt.
4. In each dish, mix the meat and veggie ziti with the sauce and cheese (half of each) in two ovenproof dishes, saving some cheese to sprinkle on top.
5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.
