Italian popular dishes:

Italian originated dish well-known by us is Italian pizza which got popular in Asian countries too. But there are some special casserole dishes made with Ziti (a type of pasta) which is available in tube forms can be used for preparing different Ziti dishes. Let us see some popular Veg and Non –Veg dishes made with Ziti.

Baked Ziti:

Baked Ziti is popular baked Italian casserole dish and is made of Ziti macaroni and sauce. In most of the recipes, the ziti is first cooked separately and then a tomato and cheese sauce is prepared. This may contain meat, sausage, mushrooms, peppers, onions, etc, let see some of them:

The below is Cheesy Baked ziti recipe. The following are the ingredients needed:

Ziti pasta (12 ounces)
Cooked spaghetti sauce (12 ounces)
Italian sausage (1 pound),
Cooked mozzarella cheese (1/2 pound)
Shredded Parmesan cheese (1/4 cup)

Also prepare Grated Ricotta cheese mixture and to prepare it

Ricotta cheese (15 ounces)
Two eggs beaten
dried basil (1/2 teaspoon)
Dried oregano
Parsley flakes
Ground pepper
garlic powder (1/4 teaspoon)

How to do:

Take an oven and preheat it to 375 degrees. Now grease the 9-by-13-inches baking dish with olive oil and then combine the ricotta cheese mixture prepared before and other ingredients together in a bowl and also layer sauce, pasta, Italian sausage, ricotta cheese mixture and mozzarella cheese. Now sprinkle Parmesan cheese on the top and cover and bake it for 20 minutes. After that uncover and heat additional 20 minutes. You can serve this with bread sticks and salad.

Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage recipe:

To make baked ziti recipe with sausage and spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese with mushrooms. The following ingredients are needed:

Italian sausage links (1 1/2 pounds)
Mushrooms (1/2 pound)
Sliced boiled onions (1 jar) or (16 ounces)
Cut in half
Jar spaghetti sauce (32 ounce)
Mozzarella cheese sliced or grated (1 pound)
Ziti or other long tube pasta (1 pound)

How to do:

Oven should be preheated to 350°. Now brown the sausages until it is well done and remove the paper towels to drain. Now drain the grease from skillet. Slice the sausage links into 1/2-inch slices, and then put it back into the skillet. Now add mushrooms, onions and spaghetti sauce and cover and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes. And then stir frequently there after. Also cook pasta until. Place 1/2 of the ziti in 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Now top with mozzarella cheese, half of sauce, then remaining ziti and remaining sauce. Bake it for 350° in oven for 30 minutes.

Baked Ziti – I recipe:

To make baked ziti – I, following are some of the ingredients needed:

Dry ziti pasta (1 pound)
One onion chopped
Lean ground beef (1 pound)
2 jars spaghetti sauce (26 ounce jar)
Provolone cheese (6 ounces)
Sliced sour cream (1 1/2 cups)
Mozzarella cheese shredded (6 ounces)
Grated Parmesan cheese (2 tablespoons)

How to do:

Boil a large pot of lightly salted water and add ziti pasta and cook about 8 minutes. With medium heat in a large skillet brown the onions and ground beef and add spaghetti sauce, and boil till 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and apply butter to a 9x13 inch baking dish. Now layer the following 1/2 of the ziti, provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and sauce mixture. Now top it with grated Parmesan cheese. Heat it for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Ziti with Eggplant:

To make ziti with eggplant the following is the ingredients needed:

Uncooked ziti or mostaccioli pasta (8 oz)
Japanese eggplant or other small eggplant, unpeeled (1/2 lb)
Olive oil (1 tsp)
Two cloves garlic, minced
Reduced sodium beef soup (3/4 cup)
Tomato paste (2 tsp)
Crushed red pepper flakes (1/4 tsp)
Packed chopped fresh basil (1/4 cup) or dried basil (2 tsp)
Grated Romano cheese (1/4 cup)

How to do:

Prepare pasta according to directions by omitting salt. As the pasta is cooked, cut eggplant into bite sized pieces. Now heat oil in large non-stick skillet and Saute eggplant with garlic in medium-low heat till light brown. Add soup, tomato paste and pepper flakes and the cook uncovered about 5 minutes. Drain pasta and divide it among 3 or 4 bowls apply the eggplant mixture over the pasta and the sprinkle basil and cheese on it.

Baked Ziti with Feta & Vegetables recipe:

If you are interested in veggie type this one is the best. To make baked ziti with Feta and Vegetable recipe following are the ingredient

One can crushed tomatoes (28 ounce)
Extra virgin olive oil (4 tablespoons)
One onion
Feta (1/2 lb) (brined curd cheese)
Three carrots
One green pepper
One package ziti pasta

How to do:

Prepare ziti according to instructions on the wrap. Green peppers, carrots, and onion should be cut into small pieces. Pour the olive oil in a non-stick skillet and heat in medium all the vegetables until lightly browned. Now stir approximately with 1/2 cup of hot water and continue cooking until vegetables are crispy and soft. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and drain the ziti. Add the cooked vegetables and stir in with the crushed tomatoes, a little sugar salt and dry basil. Now remove from the heat and place the ziti in a bowl and stir some Parmesan cheese, break the fate cheese and crumble over the mixture. Close and heat for about 30 minutes, or until feta has melted.

Creamy Baked Ziti with Broccoli:

To make creamy baked ziti with broccoli the following are the ingredients

Penne pasta (1 lb)
Olive oil (2 tablespoons)
Two cloves minced garlic
2 packages frozen chopped broccoli (10 ounce), thawed and well drained
Grated parmesan cheese (1 cup)
Half-and-half (4 cups) or heavy cream, if desired
Shredded mozzarella cheese (2 cups)

How to do:

Heat the oven to 350°. Cook the penne in boiling salted water and drain pasta and place it in a large bowl. Now heat olive oil over medium heat and saute garlic for 1 minute. And after 1 min combine the garlic, broccoli, Parmesan cheese and cream with penne. Serve the mixture into a large baking bowl and top it with mozzarella cheese. Bake it with cover for 20 to 30 minutes.

These are some of Baked Ziti recipes which can be relished by preparing at home itself. However, people who care about calories count will be disappointed as most of these dishes have huge amount of cheese and cream.