Baked Ziti I

Hey yo, what's up fellow cookers?? Check it...I hate when people give extraordinary recipies ratings that they don't deserve. I sort my recipies by "most helpful." Every person that I know who knows anything about cooking KNOWS to cover up whatever it is that they are baking so it won't dry up. Now that I got that off my chest, I just want to say that this is definitely "HALL OF FAME" material. I didn't make any changes to the recipe with the exception of how I layered it. I read some of the other reviews and decided to put the sauce mixture directly on top of the ziti, then add the cheese, sour cream and so forth. I even stirred the bottom layer of ziti and sauce together before I added anything else just to make sure that the sauce ran all through the noodles. Grease the pan real well before you put anything in it....or just use a non-stick cooking spray. If you like your meals cheesier, meatier or saucier, than you can add a little more, but that's strictly on your preference. Oh yeah.......keep in mind that this meal does make a huge dish so you might want to have a smaller baking dish on the side for any extra that doesn't fit in the first one. Better safe than sorry.....and trust...YOU WON'T BE SORRY FOR MAKING THIS AT ALL!!!!

Just made this dish for dinner tonight and it was delicious. Instead of greasing the pan (I used a Pyrex dish) with butter, I sprayed a light coating of Pam; the pan was a breeze to clean afterward. Per some of the suggestions other reviewers made, I added minced garlic and had put the sauce directly on the ziti, before the provolone. Because I like the pasta to soak up the flavor of the sauce, I did the same for the top layer ziti, (adding the sauce to the ziti before the mozerella cheese). Since I wasn't sure if doing so would make the pasta too soft, I shaved a minute off of the suggested pasta boiling time. It came out perfect, this recipe is a keeper.

Rewrite of review - This was one of the first recipes I found on Allrecipes back in 2002. Just made it again last night for friends (including 2 kids..who including the adults..went for seconds) and family. This dish makes plenty of leftovers - pack them in tupperware and freeze for another night. Always a fantastic turnout with this dish!! Did make a few altercations though...as always: Didnt realize i picked up Penne pasta instead of Ziti at the store. I omitted the onions. Used hot italian turkey sausage (squeezed the meat out of the casings and cooked it like you'd cook ground beef). Seasoned the meat with pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and Mrs Dash. Added 2 TBS of minced garlic to browning meat. Added 1 (drained) can of mushroom pieces with stems. Added 2 jars of pasta sauce and let simmer for 15 mins. Halved the amount of (reduced fat/light) sour cream and replaced it with (reduced fat/light) ricotta. And used the rest of the ingredients off the recipe. Layered PAM sprayed Pyrex baking dishes like so...Ziti, sauce, Provolone, Sour Cream, Ricotta, ziti, rest of sauce and Sargento's Italian 6 Shredded Cheese Blend - Mozzarella, Provolone, Asiago and Parmesan. Covered with foil and baked for 30 mins. :) Yummmmy **TIP** Unless you have a big family or are having company...i suggest if you are feeding up to 4 people to half the recipe. Thanks Colleen for a great recipe!