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Neelys Baked Ziti




Source of Recipe


The Neelys on Food Network


Recipe Introduction


This was delicious! Very meaty and not overly cheesy. I don’t know what kind of folks the Neelys are feeding, but the original recipe said it served 6 – 8. Since I was only feeding us, I halved the recipe. What I came up with would EASILY serve 8-10!! I made a few substitutions and changes: I used mild pork Italian sausage, fresh mozzarella and I did a chiffonade on the spinach. One of the reviewers at Food Network suggested adding an egg to the cheese mixture and I think that is a good idea. NOTE: the ingredients are the amounts that I used, not those in the original recipe.


List of Ingredients




Salt
1/2 pound ziti
1/2 pound hot Italian turkey sausage, casing removed
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
3 ounces pesto
8 ounces ricotta cheese
1 (5-ounce) package washed spinach
Butter, for baking dish
1 cup shredded mozzarella, plus more for topping
3/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for topping


Recipe



Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook the pasta in salted water to al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the sausage until almost done. Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent. Add the tomatoes and pesto and simmer for 10 minutes.

In a very large bowl mix the cheeses and spinach, stirring to combine. Add the pasta and the meat mixture and mix well.
Butter a 2 qt. baking dish and add the pasta mixture. Top with additional mozzarella and Parmesan.

Bake until completely heated through and golden and crisp on top, about 20 minutes.

Serves 8 - 10.