That Means We Get Pie!: Baked Ziti and Growing Your Own Basil

Sometimes you want something more than spaghetti. And you may want something that's more cheesy and gooey than a plate of noodles. This baked ziti is just hat the doctor ordered.

If you've had ziti in an Italian Restaurant (or unfortunately had it at Sbarro's), you may think that it may take a while to prepare, but that's not true. The preparation for this is very simple and only takes about 15 minutes longer than a batch of spaghetti.

To add a great flavor for this dish, you can use fresh herbs. You can buy them in the produce section of your local grocery store. One package of basil is more than enough for this dish.

Better yet, when you plant your garden, add one basil plant. It may sound intimidating, because you may think that you have to do something special. But that's definitely not the case. I have no shade of green on my thumb and they've survived my garden for the past two years.

The plant will cost you all of $3.00 at your local nursery. The great thing is that they are hardy plants and they take very little maintenance beyond the the necessary watering. I installed a drip system in my garden. Sounds fancy and all, but it's just a spur off of the sprinkler lines with one long supply hose running the length of the garden. Using a small punch, you poke holes in the main hose, press small control plugs into the large hose near each plant (extremely easy), and then run little hoses to the base of each plant. The setup and maintenance of a drip system can take a couple hours when you plant the garden, but it means that every plant gets the right amount of water no matter how windy or hot it gets. It makes gardening infinitely easier.

Anytime you feel like an Italian meal in the summer or fall, you can pick a few leaves off the plant, rinse them, slice them into ribbons and throw them in the dish. Their flavor is much stronger and cleaner than the dried basil. At the end of the season, you can cut the plant off just above the ground, hang it upside down in a cool place for a couple of weeks and you'll have your own freshly dried basil, better than anything you can buy in the store.

Baked Ziti

Makes 8 Servings

1 pound penne pasta
3/4 pound ground Italian sausage
4 cups marinara sauce (one batch of the Quick and Easy Marinara sauce)
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups grated mozzarella
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese sliced thinly
1 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Your favorite Italian spices

Brown ground Italian sausage in a large skillet. Once cooked, add the ingredients for the marinara sauce to the sausage to warm it up. In a large stock pot cook the penne pasta until it is al dente. Strain out the water and return the penne to the stock pot. Add the marinara, pepper flakes, 1 cup parmesan, and the 2 cups grated mozzarella and stir until combined.

Grease a 13x9" pan with olive oil or no-stick spray, your choice. Pour the noodles into the pan, spreading them out evenly. Cover the top of the noodles with the slices of mozzarella and sprinkle with the rest of the pepper flakes and parseman on top. Decorate with the Italian spices. Place in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes, then turn on the broiler for 3 minutes or until the cheese on top begins to brown.