Quick and Easy Baked Ziti

I'm one of those gals that spent much of their early years never cooking anything. In fact I can say that I have successfully burned hard boiled eggs! Along the way, I ended up with a husband and four children that really needed to eat a bit more healthy food than what arrived in a sack from McDonald's drive up window.

One of the quickest and easiest meals I have found is Baked Ziti. Most of the recipes that I run across have a long list of ingredients that make my mouth water, as well as empty my pocket book, often needing a special trip to the store for items I don't have in my pantry.

I've found that I can make a very satisfying and quick Baked Ziti with items already in my cupboard and freezer you can to!

To save time and money, I often purchase large packages of inexpensive hamburger. I fry it up like taco meat without seasonings and strain the grease out. After it cools, I scoop 2 cups into individual freezer bags, and place them in the freezer. These backs come in handy when you need a quick meal and will easily feed my family of six.

To make Baked Ziti, gather up the following:

1 frozen bag of cooked meat

1 can of Spaghetti sauce (26.5 oz can)

2 cups grated Cheddar Jack cheese

½ cup Parmesan Cheese

1 bag of Penne' noodles (16 oz bag)

2 Tablespoons of Oil

Fill a large pan with water, add Oil and bring to a boil. After it comes to a boil, add ½ bag of the Penne' noodles to the water, stir and place lid on pan. Turn the burner down to low, set the timer for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

While the noodles are cooking, take a large bowl and pour in ½ of the can of Spaghetti sauce, add ¾ cups Cheddar Jack cheese, Parmesan Cheese and meat. Stir until blended.

**Tip: If the meat is frozen, just bang both sides of the bag on the counter until meat is crumbly and just add to mixture.

When the timer goes off and the noodles are done, strain them, and add them to the mixture. Mix thoroughly.

Pour into a baking dish that has been lightly gone over with butter to help keep it from sticking. Cover with remaining Cheddar Jack cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

**Tip: This recipe is easy to double by using the full can of sauce and bag of noodles. Adjust other ingredients accordingly.