September 16 - Baked Ziti

Our MOMS Club has been growing exponentially lately - not just with new members, but with so many new babies! We have this program called "Helping Hands" so that when one of the mamas has a new baby, she can sign up for meal delivery. This is such a huge success that after I had Luke, I had 6 weeks of meals coming in 3 days a week. And all of them were big enough for leftovers on the off-days. It's so amazing how this group of women comes together to lend support to each other - and I'm grateful to not only be a recipient of their efforts, but also a participant!

My good friend, Jody (a fellow Munchin Mama), just had her second little girl, so I signed up to bring her dinner. Her family loves pasta, so even though I try not to make it (such an easy, go-to meal...I like to try to give something that others won't bring, too), I decided to go with the baked ziti staple.

I've posted this recipe a thousand times, I'm sure, but honestly, it's so easy and delicious, I'll post it again. It came from my mother-in-law...and even though I love to alter recipes to my taste, I've never had to touch this one. It's just perfect as is! I usually serve it up with salad and garlic crescent rolls (or some other bread).

Baked Ziti
Ingredients
1 lb ziti noodles
1 lb ground sausage
1/2 lb ground beef
3 cups mozzarella cheese
3 cups marinara/spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Cook ziti in boiling water; drain.
3. Brown meats; drain off fat.
4. In a large baking dish, layer ziti, meat, cheese and sauce; repeat until everything has been used.
5. Top with Parmesan cheese.
6. Bake about 30 - 40 minutes until bubbly.