Deep South Eats: Meaty Baked Ziti

This Baked Ziti is absolutely awesome. It is in no way super healthy, but every now and then you need a little fat around the waist. Who said muffin tops weren't coming back in style?

One thing that I have found about this dish is it is sort of a "loaves and fishes" kind of meal. It tends to multiply before your eyes and feeds more people than you imagined possible. I remember making this one Sunday morning to have for lunch after church with some family. When we arrived at church we found that some of our family we thought was out of town was actually in town so they got invited too. Over the course of Bible class and worship service I think we added 10 more people to the lunch list. Surprisingly, this served everyone with plenty. This past week I made it for dinner with the assumption that my husband and little nut could eat it for dinners while I was out of town. Even with them munching off of it for 2 meals, I came home to find 3/4 of the casserole dish still occupied. Crazy, right? I guess one day we can figure out the magic of the Baked Ziti.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound dry ziti pasta
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
• 6 slices of Provolone cheese
• 1 1/2 cups of sour cream
• 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 Tablespoons, grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes, drain.
• In a large skillet, brown onion and salted ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
• Butter or grease a 9x13 casserole dish. Layer as follow: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Sprinkle top with grated Parmesan cheese.
• Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

Serves well with a crisp romaine salad and crusty garlic bread.

Recipe adapted from All Recipes' Baked Ziti I

Don't forget to check out the One Thousand Gifts Chapter Seven discussion.