Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Sausage and Pepper Baked Ziti

From: Womans Day

Ingredients:
8 oz uncooked ziti rigati pasta
2 tsp oil
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
2 cubanelle peppers, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
12 oz spicy or sweet Italian sausage (4 links)
1 cup part-skim ricotta
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 cups marinara sauce (from a 24- or 26- oz jar)


Heat oven to 400. Cook pasta in a large pot of lightly salted water as package directs for al dente or firm texture. Meanwhile, heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add peppers, onion and sausage; cook 6 minutes or until sausage is browned. Remove from heat; cut sausage into slices.

Mix ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, 3 Tbsp Parmesan and the parsley in large bowl. Drain pasta; toss with cheese mixture, sausage mixture and 1 cup marinara sauce. Pour pasta mixture into a 2-qt shallow baking dish. Spoon remaining sauce on top; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes or until bubbly.


What I did differently from the recipe:
I didn't have any tubed pasta so I just used what I had on hand. I left out the cubanelle peppers because they weren't at the one grocery store I was headed to today, and I wasn't about to go all over town looking for them. I used kielbasa instead of sweet Italian sausage, so I added juice from my minced garlic and a little fennel seed to sweeten it. Basically what I'm saying is I changed everything about this recipe. Just kidding!

What I'll do differently next time:
Nothing.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! What a yummy recipe! Although I'd be interested to test different flavors of sausage and pepper in here, it was so good just the way I made it this time, so I hate to mess with it at all! Highly recommend!

Sausage and Pepper Baked Ziti

Ingredients:
8 oz uncooked ziti rigati pasta
2 tsp oil
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
2 cubanelle peppers, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
12 oz spicy or sweet Italian sausage (4 links)
1 cup part-skim ricotta
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 cups marinara sauce (from a 24- or 26- oz jar)

Heat oven to 400. Cook pasta in a large pot of lightly salted water as package directs for al dente or firm texture. Meanwhile, heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add peppers, onion and sausage; cook 6 minutes or until sausage is browned. Remove from heat; cut sausage into slices. Mix ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, 3 Tbsp Parmesan and the parsley in large bowl. Drain pasta; toss with cheese mixture, sausage mixture and 1 cup marinara sauce. Pour pasta mixture into a 2-qt shallow baking dish. Spoon remaining sauce on top; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes or until bubbly.

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