Southwestbakedziti Recipes

CLASSIC BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Brown the sausage in a large skillet or pot over medium heat, until it's brown and crispy on the edges (pork sausage contains a lot of fat, so I didn't add any extra to the skillet).
• While the sausage is browning, finely dice the onion. Add the onion to the skillet once the sausage has browned, and continue to sauté over medium heat until the onion is soft and translucent.
• Add the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and ½ cup water to the skillet with the sausage and stir to combine. Place a lid on the skillet and allow it to come up to a simmer. Once simmering, turn the heat down and allow it to continue to simmer while you cook the ziti. Stir the sauce occasionally as it simmers.
• After getting the sauce started, begin the ziti. Bring a large pot of water with ½ Tbsp salt to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the ziti, and let it continue to boil until the ziti is tender (about 7-8 minutes). Drain the ziti in a colander. Shake the colander a bit to shake excess water out of the pasta.
• While the pasta and sauce are cooking, prepare the cheese filling. Add the ricotta, Italian cheese blend, and some freshly cracked black pepper (about 10 cranks of a pepper mill) to a bowl and stir to combine. Begin to preheat the oven to 350ºF.
• After draining the ziti, return it to the pot and add 1 cup of the red sauce. Stir to coat the cooked pasta in sauce.
• Pour half of the ziti to a 9x13" baking dish. Add half of the ricotta mixture on top of the ziti in small dollops. Finally, spoon half of the red sauce and sausage over the pasta and ricotta. It's okay if the ingredients don't cover in a solid layer. Repeat these layers with the second half of the pasta, ricotta mixture, and sauce. Finally, top with 2 cups shredded mozzarella.
• Cover the baking dish with foil, making sure it's slightly tented so that it doesn't touch or stick to the melted cheese. Transfer the covered casserole to the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
• After baking for 20 minutes, remove the foil, and turn the oven on to broil (keep the casserole on the middle rack, about 10-12 inches from the broiler). Broil for 5 minutes, or just until the cheese is slightly browned. Keep a close eye on the baked ziti as it broils, because broilers can vary in intensity. Top with chopped parsley, if desired, then serve.

SOUTHWEST BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Cook pasta according until almost done.
• Spray a 8 inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• In a small mixing bowl, combine tomato sauce and salsa.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta cheese with half of the mozzarella cheese.
• Next blend in half of the tomata/salsa sauce, corn, chopped green chilies, oregano and pepper.
• Add the cooked ziti to mixture and mix well.
• Spoon in pasta mixture into your 8 inch casserole dish.
• Spread the remaining sauce over the top followed by the mozzarella cheese and then the grated Parmesan cheese.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes.
• Uncover and bake 15 more minutes.

SOUTHWEST DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, ketchup, horseradish, paprika, salt, oregano, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Store covered in the refrigerator until needed.

SOUTHWEST CHICKEN BAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Add seasoning mix to chicken in medium bowl; toss to evenly coat.
• Heat dressing in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 5 min. or until evenly browned. Spoon into 1-1/2-qt. casserole; cover with layers of beans, corn, onions and salsa.
• Bake 20 min. Top with cheese; bake 5 min. or until melted. Serve over rice.

BAKED SOUTHWEST SANDWICHES

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine olives, chili powder, cumin and salt; set aside 2 tablespoons. Add the mayonnaise, sour cream and onion to the remaining olive mixture. , Place bread on an ungreased baking sheet; spread 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise mixture on each slice. Top with turkey and tomatoes. Spread with another tablespoon of mayonnaise mixture; top with avocados and cheeses. Sprinkle with reserved olive mixture. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until heated through.

SOUTHWESTERN DIP

Steps:

• In medium bowl, mix all ingredients except cheese, chilies and tortilla chips. Stir in cheese and chilies.
• Cover and refrigerate 2 to 4 hours to blend flavors. Serve with tortilla chips.

SOUTHWESTERN SALAD

Steps:

• In a large salad bowl, toss together the beans, green onions, tomato, avocado and half of the Catalina dressing. Top with cheese and then lettuce. Refrigerate. Just before serving, add corn chips to salad and toss. Serve with remaining dressing.