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Baked Ziti with meatballs plus salad

Baked Ziti With Meatballs In Vodka Sauce

An easy and quick pasta that is great anytime. Using premade meatballs and a rich pizza sauce as the base it is easy and tasty.

Course Main Course, Pasta
Cuisine American, Italian
Keyword baked ziti, meatballs, pasta, vodka sauce
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 1 20 oz package frozen party meatballs thawed if possible
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 10 oz mushrooms sliced
  • 1 28 oz can tomato puree
  • 1 6 oz can tomato paste
  • ½ cup vodka
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 lb shredded cheese a combination of jack and mozzarella or all mozzarella
  • 3/4 cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese
  • 1 lb dried ziti pasta

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°
  2. Have a large casserole dish or 13 by 9” dish sprayed with cooking spray and ready.

  3. While the oven is heating, heat a large skillet or saucepan over medium heat.

  4. When the pan is hot, add the olive oil and sauté the onions and mushrooms until the onions have softened and most of the the moisture has cooked out of the mushrooms, about 5 minutes.

  5. Add the tomato puree, tomato paste, vodka, dried basil and oregano, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine. Let the sauce come to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cover.
  6. Start to heat a large pot of water to a boil.

  7. Stirring occasionally, let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes or a bit longer as you cook the meatballs and the pasta.

  8. When the oven has preheated, bake the meatballs according to the directions on the package. It usually is about 20 minutes.

  9. When the water has come to a boil, heavily salt the water and cook the pasta just until al-dente, about 10 minutes, reserve ½ cup of the pasta water and add to the pasta sauce.

  10. Drain the pasta and set aside.
  11. Just before the meatballs have finished cooking, stir in the heavy cream into the pasta sauce and take it off the heat.

  12. When the meatballs have cooked through, remove the meatballs from the oven. But leave the oven on.

  13. Combine the meatballs, pasta and the finished sauce in a large bowl, container or pot. Stir in half of the shredded cheese, mixing well to combine. If you have a large enough sauce pot that you cooked the sauce in, you can use that.

  14. Pour and spread the pasta mixture into the prepared casserole dish.
  15. Top with the remaining shredded cheese and the grated Parmesan.
  16. Bake in the 350° oven for 30 minutes or until the cheese has melted and it has just begun to brown.