Baked Ziti Recipe

We have had very little sleep lately so I've been looking for simplicity when it comes to cooking. Here is a recipe that I came up with the other day that is quite easy to make, and also a little bit lighter than your usual baked ziti. It was so good that we ate it for 3 days. I normally have a rule about leftovers... that unless it is something really delicious, I will only eat it for 2 days. This one was an exception to the rule for sure.

Ingredients

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 jar marinara pasta sauce

1 box penne pasta

1 cup cottage cheese

1 cup ricotta cheese

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

fresh basil - for topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

2. Over medium heat, in large skillet cook onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent.

3. Add jar of pasta sauce into onion/garlic. Stir. Add pasta into mixture. Heat through.

4. In bowl, combine cottage cheese, ricotta, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and salt and pepper.

5. In 9x13 pan, add half of the pasta mixture. Then add all of the cheese mixture. Then top with remaining pasta. Finish off with the remaining cup of mozzarella.

6. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

7. Before serving top with diced basil.