Baked Ziti with Garlic Bread

In the winter, I love just about anything that cooks in the oven. So the last night we had baked ziti. I also enjoy baked ziti for another reason, it can be prepared ahead of time and then just put in the oven to bake when you're ready for it.

Baked Ziti

Ingredients:

1 box ziti (16 oz), cooked according to package directions, drained
1 box frozen spinach (optional, add to the ziti in the last 2 minutes of cooking)
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese (divided into 1-1/2 cups and 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

(Cooking the ziti and spinach)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a 13x9 casserole dish with olive oil (or spray with non-stick spray).

Pour 1/2 of the jar of spaghetti sauce into the pot with the prepared ziti (and spinach). Stir well to combine.

Pour half of the ziti with sauce into the prepared casserole dish. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine all the cheeses (except for the 1/2 cup of mozzarella).

Using a teaspoon, spoon the cheese mixture onto the ziti in the casserole dish. Use all the cheese mixture and cover the ziti.

Pour the remaining ziti over the cheeses. Pour the remaining spaghetti sauce over the top of the whole pan of ziti (spreading with a wooden spoon as necessary). Sprinkle the top with the reserved mozzarella.

Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Serve with a salad and garlic bread.

Garlic Bread (our favorite!)

Ingredients:

1 loaf of French or Italian bread cut in half, lengthwise
garlic butter (you can buy prepared garlic butter or make your own - recipe to follow)
dried parsley
smoked paprika

Spread the bread with the garlic butter.

Sprinkle with the parsley and paprika. Bake at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes, or until the butter is melted and the crust is crispy.

Garlic Butter

1 stick of margarine
5-10 cloves of garlic, crushed (depends on taste, we like garlic so we use all 10 cloves)

Place the margarine and the garlic in a microwave safe dish and cover with a paper towel. Microwave on high for 30 seconds (or more, until the margarine is melted). Allow to sit in the microwave for 10 minutes.

Remove the bowl from the microwave and carefully remove the garlic from the bowl. Cover the margarine and put in the refrigerator to re-harden.

Once hardened it can be easily spread onto the bread.