Best Sunday Gravy And Baked Ziti Recipes

ZITI AL FORNO (FROM THE SOPRANOS FAMILY COOKBOOK)

Steps:

• Put all the ziti in a large bowl.
• Toss ziti with 3 cups of the gravy and half of the grated cheese.
• Spoon half of the ziti into a casserole dish.
• Spread the ricotta over the top of the ziti.
• Sprinkle with the mozzarella and rest of grated cheese.
• Pour on 1 cup of sauce.
• Top with remaining ziti and rest of sauce (it will be almost overflowing) sprinkle with more grated cheese.
• Bake covered with foil for 45 minutes and then uncovered for 15 minutes.
• Let stand 15 minutes.
• Tell me immediately how it was!

BAKED ZITI WITH EASY HOMEMADE ITALIAN GRAVY

Steps:

• Gravy (2 hours before dinner or as early as a few days before) in a medium bowl mix together . . . ground beef, 1 tsp dried parsley, 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1 clove garlic minced, 2 TBS Italian Flavored Bread Crumbs, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. Mix with fork until evenly blended. Brown meat mixture in olive oil in a 5 qt sauce pan. When cooked almost through remove.
• Drain pan. Add 1 lb sausage. Brown well on all sides. Remove.
• Drain pan well. Saute 1/2 lb sliced slice fresh mushroom until slightly brown.
• Return sausage links and ground meat mixture to sauce pan. Add tomatoes, puree, 1 tsp parsley, 1 TBS basil, 1 clove minced garlic. Simmer 1 hour. Remove sausage, slice (1/4 ") return to pot. continue to simmer until ready to use.
• NEXT. Fill large pot with 5 quarts cold water. Bring to boil. Cook ziti according to package directions (al dente).
• While ziti is cooking mix together ricotta, 3/4 lb mozzarella, Romano and black pepper.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Drain ziti well. Place in 9X12 baking dish. Add cheese mixture blend well.
• With slotted spoon, remove 2-3 cups meat and mushrooms from gravy. Add to ziti. Add 1 cup extra sauce. Mix well. Top with remaining mozzarella. Cover. Bake 30 minutes. remove cover and baked another 5-10 minutes, until cheese melts and gets bubbly. You do not want it to brown.
• Also works well with medium sized shells.
• 1 cup sliced black olives may be added to recipe or substituted for mushrooms.