Love,Cook and Eat

Why three cheese? Simply because I love cheese and whenever I have the chance to add more , I do it.I made this casserole yesterday because I had so many things to do during the day and I thought preparing this in the morning and putting it in the fridge and just bake it when my husband comes home is so convenient.I used my own marinara sauce for this recipe but of course you can use your own or even just use a store bought one.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb ziti  pasta ( I used penne)
6 oz  ground beef
2 tbs onion
1/2 tbs vegetable oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp basil
pinch of black pepper
8 oz ricotta cheese
2 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese divided
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 cups marinara sauce ( recipe follows)

Directions:

Over medium heat , bring a pot of water ( salted + few drops of oil)  to boil, and cook pasta for 10 mins. Do not over cook.
While pasta cooks, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat and  saute onions for 2 mins and  add gound beef,salt, pepper,basil and oregano and  cook unitl beef is browned.

Drain pasta, and in a bowl mix pasta, 2 3/4 cups of sauce, beef , ricotta cheese and 1/2 cup of mozzeralla cheese.

In a baking dish ( I used a 8x8 )  spread the 1/4 cup of sauce left on the bottom and then pour mixture over the sauce and top with  2 cups mozzeralla cheese and 1/4 cup of parmeasan.

Bake in a 375 degrees oven for about 25-30 mins or until bubbly on the sides and broil of couple mins on top.