Cheesy Ziti

I ended up with this recipe off of a cooking board I belong to, but somehow no one on there seems to know who/where the orginal source of the recipe is. This recipe is extremely simple and absolutely delishious! Warning though, it does make a very large batch. The next time I make this dish, I will be dividing it into two containers - one to eat and one to freeze for later.

Cheesy Ziti

2-1/2 jars spaghetti sauce (I used Ragu Chucky Garden)
1 lb. ziti (or any small) noodles (I used mini penne)
1 lb. ground beef
15 oz. ricotta cheese or cottage cheese (I used ricotta)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 packet Italian seasoning (This is the dry dressing packet. You can also use a lasagna seasoning packet instead, but the Italian gives it a certain zest.)
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain and set aside. In a small bowl mix ricotta, egg, Italian seasoning and parmesan; set aside. Brown ground beef and drain off fat. Add sauce and noodles to ground beef; mix well. Spoon half of noodle mixture into greased (I always forget to grease the pans and it doesn't seem to matter)13x9-inch** dish. Spread ricotta mixture over noodles. Top with remaining pasta mixture. Cover with shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until warmed throughout and cheese is melted.

*Next time I make this, I'm going to use another recipe as a guide and add in 2-1/2 cups of fresh spinach when I do the ricotta cheese layer before topping with the rest of the pasta.

**I now make this and bake it in 8x8 pans instead of the 9x13-inch pans. For our family of four, the 9x13 pan left us with way too many leftovers. So I bake one pan and freeze the second pan for a later meal. To cook from frozen, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and bake as directed above. You may have to bake for slightly longer to be sure it warmed throughout.

Spinach Stuffing Balls

While these don't sound very appealing, they were a hit with both myself and my husband. The particular recipe I chose to make came from MomAdvice.com. I tweaked it slightly, so if you want to see the original recipe, follow the above link.

Spinach Stuffing Balls

2 (16 oz) packages frozen spinach
1 package turkey-flavored stuffing mix*
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
5 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Thaw spinach and drain in a sieve, use back of a wooden spoon to press the spinach against the sieve to get as much moisture as possible out In a bowl combine the spinach, stuffing mix, Parmesan cheese, eggs, and butter. Mix thoroughly & roll into small balls 3/4 to 1″ size. (I used a "cookie" scoop to scoop out equal amounts and then rolled them in my hands to firm up the balls.) If cooking right away, place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. If making for later, place on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once frozen, place in a freezer safe bag or container.

To serve from frozen: Place frozen balls on a cookie sheet and bake at 350F for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned.

*Use turkey, chicken, or any other dry stuffing mix. Experiment and try out different combinations to find a flavor you like.