Lasagna Style Baked Ziti

In this video I'm going to walk you through how to make a delicious baked ziti that has a bit of a lasagna twist to it. Perfect for the kiddos and just a great family dinner all around that hits the spot for pasta cravings. So let's get into it. First up on the prep list I'm going to slice open the Italian sausages, remove them from the casings, and fry up the meat in a hot pan with a splash of olive oil until it's cooked through and the edges are crisped up nicely. Once the sausage is done cooking you're going to transfer the meat to a separate container. Then you're going to pull out your onion and garlic and finely chop up the white onion along with some fresh minced garlic. Then you're going to lightly cook them in the same pan that you cooked the sausage in until they are tender. Add in the canned tomatoes and cook it down on medium heat for a few minutes then season with salt and black pepper, dried oregano, and a little pinch of sugar. Continue to cook this down until it's reduced by about half, check for seasoning one last time, then it's on to the pasta. For a recipe like this I use a sturdy pasta such as rigatoni but penne or farfalle can work just as well. Just make sure to cook the pasta in salted boiling water until it's just a little under al dente since we'll continue to cook this in the oven a bit longer. Once the pasta is done cooking, strain it, transfer it to the tomato sauce, and fold in some parmesan cheese to the mix. Next up is the layering process. So you're going to put the pasta down in the baking tray first, top that with some crispy italian sausage, mozzarella cheese, a few good dollops of fresh ricotta, then you're going to repeat this process one or two more times depending on how many layers you want, then top with a good sprinkling of dried oregano and bake this in an oven set to 375 degrees fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes or until everything is melted through and hot in the middle. Once the lasagna is finished baking, remove it from the oven and this is ready to go. Maybe give it 5 or 10 minutes before you dig in, but this lasagna style baked ziti can be customized a million different ways with dried or homemade pasta, different meat fillings, fresh pestos, alfredos, and many many more varieties. I hope you guys enjoyed the video and make sure you drop a comment down below. If you did, hit that share and like button to continue watching my channel and I'll see you next time with another recipe. Later folks.