Healthy Baked Ziti

Ok so it is getting kind of ridiculous that I have a recipe tab and it only has one lonely recipe in it. I cook all the time so I am not sure why that is. Part of me feels like posting recipes is boring and nobody wants to read them, but then I think how many blogs I follow for their recipes. Either way I am hitting ya'll with three tonight.

I am kind of turning into a casserole girl here lately. For one I was kind of getting bored with the crock pot and two I am loving that I can make these at any time of the day, stick it in a casserole dish, pop it in the fridge and simply stick it in the oven around dinner time. They freeze well too which is a definite plus. I keep telling myself I am going to cook a bunch of casserole dishes on Sunday to freeze them for the week so I won't have to cook. That has yet to happen.

Here it is in all its yummy glory

Healthy Baked Ziti

This is what you need.

Side note: We buy a half a cow each year and I forgot to take a pic before I took the packaging off. The initial investment seems like a lot but it is so much healthier (no hormones, etc..) and you save money in the long run. I will try to blog about it soom

Cook the meat and pasta.

I strongly recommend using wholewheat pasta where ever possible

When the meat and pasta are looking close to ready, mix the cheeses and eggs

I rinse the meat to shave a few more calories off

Stir the pasta in with the cheeses

Stir spagetti sauce in with meat

Now the fun part, start layering with 1/3 of your meat

Now add 1/2 your pasta/cheese mixture

 

Continue layering ending with your meat. Now just pop it in the oven at 350 for 40 minutes

This is the leftovers after feeding 4 adults, just to give you an idea.

Our family is big on leftovers. 

This is definitely a family fav. I love it because you don't need a lot of ingredients and it is fairly simple. I heart anything that is healthy and yummy.

Ingredients

• 12 ounces whole wheat ziti or other small tube pasta
• 2 pounds ground beef/ ground turkey
• 1 (28 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 2 eggs
• 1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
• 2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce. In a bowl, combine the eggs, ricotta cheese, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.
2. Drain pasta; add to cheese mixture and toss to coat. Spoon a third of the meat sauce into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish; top with half of the pasta mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining meat sauce.
3. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.