Baked Ziti

I originally made this recipe so that I could have a great pasta dinner that I could turn into frozen entrees to come home to during the busy weeks of teaching.  I made a big batch of baked ziti and froze most of it.  When I ate the last of the leftovers, I knew that I had to make it again.  Instead of having frozen TV dinners that cost $4.00 each (or whatever they cost....), I had prepared a large quantity for minimum cost!  I changed things up when I made it last night and liked the results even better, so while the pictures will be from the first batch, the recipe I share below will be the altered version (added stuff marked with *).  I'll add some pictures of the most recent recipe next time I heat some up because it is vastly different from the pictures below.

Enjoy!

Baked Ziti

1/2 pound dry pasta (ziti, penne, or rotini)
EVOO
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped*
10 oz. spinach, chopped*
1 pound ground turkey*
2 jars spaghetti sauce
1 cup ricotta cheese*
1 egg*
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup sour cream
shredded mozarella cheese
salt, pepper to taste
italian seasoning to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Bring large pot of water to a boil.  Salt the water and add pasta.  Cook until al dente, or about 8 minutes.  Drain and put back in large pot.

2. Meanwhile, heat EVOO in large skillet.  Add garlic and onion.  Sautee until onions are clear and translucent.  Just before the end of cooking time, add chopped spinach.  Cook down slightly. 

3. Put garlic, onion, and spinach in a bowl and set aside. 

4. In same skillet, brown ground turkey.  Add the garlic, onion, and spinach and mix well. 

5. In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta and egg.  Add in sour cream and blend until creamy.  Pour into pot of pasta and mix to coat all noodles.  Add in meat and onion mixture.  Toss together.  Add salt, pepper, and italian seasoning to taste. 

6. Spray a baking dish with PAM cooking spray.  Pour most of one jar of spaghetti sauce into bottom of baking dish.  Pour pasta into dish.  Sprinkle with shredded cheese.  Pour remaining jar of spaghetti sauce on top of pasta.  Sprinkle with more shredded cheese. 

7. Cover with aluminom foil and bake 30-40 minutes until cheese is slightly browned and bubbly. 

Bon appetit!