So this is the recipe I followed for the baked ziti.. I was completely lured in by the "quick" part in it:
Quick Baked Ziti
8 ounces ziti1 cup ricotta chesse (go for the part-skim to shave off some fat and calories)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
divided into 1/2 cup portions1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg beaten
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 24 ounce jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook ziti according to package directions. Drain.While ziti is cooking, combine ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan, 1/2 cup mozzarella, egg, and seasoning. Stir ziti into the mixure.Using a 2-quart casserole dish, pour in 1/2 of the tomato sauce. Add the ziti mixture, then top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup or parmesan and 1/2 cup mozzarella on top and bake for about 25 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
And I followed it pretty exactly. I don't know what the problem was, I used a red sauce with cheese and pretty much did everything else I was told. The end result though was underwhelming. Maybe I didn't have enough sauce.. maybe it needed more spices.. I have no idea but it was really not good. On the plus side, I DID make my famous Sweet Potato Casserole with brown sugar and pecan topping for Christmas Day at Jeff's relatives and it came out really, really well.. So apparently I can cook SOME things... just not good things like say.. meals. You want something baked and really fattening.. I can do that. You want a MEAL.. or something that could be served for dinner... apparently I'm not equipped for that challenge of life.
Any suggestions?? I really have no idea what I could be doing wrong.. then recipe is so simple and so easy.. I thought for sure I couldn't mess this one up.
3 comments:
I'm stumped (and will overlook my horror at the "canned spaghetti sauce" ingredient....lol). The only thing I would suggest is mixing a little bit of the sauce in with the ziti mixture, in addition to layering it below and on top. But it should be fine. Also, I use a pound of ziti -- 8 ounces isn't even worth the effort. Which means you need more sauce, cheese, etc. And this means I need to teach you how to make homemade Italian tomato sauce!
But was the end result bland, undercooked, overcooked....?
End result was overcooked and bland... not really good at all. Not burned.. I managed to grab it before it burned, but definitely overcooked and not tasty. Just a failure all around.... :-(
The other thing that comes to mind is the quality of the cheeses...did you use real Parmesan/Romano cheese that you buy at the deli or cheese counter or the Kraft kind in the green canister?
Post a Comment