Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

2 jars of your favorite pasta sauce or use homemade

2 T. Italian seasoning

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. onion powder

2 C. ricotta cheese

2 C. mozzarella cheese

1 C. grated Parmesan cheese

2 T. chopped fresh parsley

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 lb. ground beef or pork or a mixture, whichever you prefer.

1 lb. ziti or penne pasta

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Open your jars of sauce and add the Italian seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder to each jar; put the lid back on and shake, shake, shake and set aside.

Combine the ricotta, 1 C. mozzarella, 1/2 C. Parmesan, parsley, salt, and eggs in a large bowl and set aside.

In a medium size sauce pan cook your meat until no longer pink, drain and add your pasta sauce; mix well.

Cook ziti pasta according to package instructions, just make sure it is al dente because you will be cooking it longer in the oven. Once pasta is done toss with a little sauce.

Place a layer of sauced pasta in a large casserole dish, I use a 9×13. Dot the pasta with small bits of the cheese mixture and then spoon some tomato sauce over the cheese. Repeat this process two more times to make 3 layers of pasta, cheese, and sauce. Sprinkle the top of the casserole with the remaining 1/2 C. Parmesan cheese and the 1/2 C. mozzarella.

Bake until the top is lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Let the pasta casserole rest for 5 minutes before serving.