Baked Ziti

This recipe makes a large tray of food so I hope you're hungry! This is a new take on an old favorite. Since this recipe makes so much, it's ideal for freezing and reheating at a later date. This will keep in the freezer for up to three months.

Ingredients:

1lb whole wheat penne

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Large yellow onion, chopped

1 Teaspoon salt

1/2 Teaspoon black pepper

1 Package morningstar farms beef flavored crumbles (fake ground beef)

3 Large cloves garlic put through a garlic press or minced very fine

1 1/2 Tablespoons dried oregano

1-25 Oz. jar marinara sauce

1-15 Oz. container ricotta cheese

1-12 Oz. bag frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess water

1 Cup freshly grated Parmesan reggiano cheese

1 Cup shredded mozzarella

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook penne in salted water according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, place large skillet with olive oil in it over medium-high heat. Add the onion, salt, pepper and cook for 7-10 minutes or until onions are translucent. It's important to make sure your onions are cooked enough, no one wants to crunch down on raw onion in their ziti. Add the "beef" crumbles and cook about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and oregano, cook for 2 minutes. Add the marinara sauce and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the drained pasta to skillet and toss. Add the ricotta, spinach and half of the Parmesan reggiano cheese. Toss again. Transfer into a large rectangular Pyrex dish. Sprinkle top with mozzarella and remaining Parmesan reggiano cheese. Bake until the mozzarella has melted, about 15 minutes.

While this dish seems a little more involved, I made it this weekend for dinner and it was actually quite easy. If you want to save time, you can buy your onions pre-chopped. It's really important to squeeze the extra water out of your spinach so that your ziti isn't watery. Enjoy!