Recipe Review: Thirty Minute Skillet Baked Ziti

Being a single mom presents many challenges, the one I face most often is keeping my kid fed between working and the multiple sports and activities. Heck this is challenging for any family. So I’m always on the lookout for quick, simple meals that actually taste good. One of the problems I’ve run into is simple meals sometimes end up tasting bland and then no one wants to eat them. This recipe not only uses just a few pans / utensils (easier clean up, woohoo) but my son went back for seconds, a win all the way around.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 cloves garlic, minced (you can also use pre-minced from a jar)

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (want a bit more heat, add more pepper flakes)

Salt & black pepper to taste

1 – 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

3 cups water

12 ounces (3 ¾ cups) ziti

½ cup heavy cream (half & half, crème fraiche or a mix would also work)

½ cup grated parmesan

¼ cup fresh, minced basil (you can substitute 1/8 cup of dried basil)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (feel free to add more if you like things cheesy)

Tips: You will need an oven-proof skillet (deeper than a frying pan) or a 2-quart casserole dish. Measure water and pasta before you cook. Prep the parmesan and basil as the pasta simmers.

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 475, you’ll want the rack to be in the middle.
2. Combine oil, garlic, pepper flakes and ½ tsp salt in skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant (~ 1 min).
3. Add tomatoes, water, ziti and ½ tsp salt to skillet, cover and cook for 15 – 18 min until at a rapid simmer and ziti is al dente. Stir frequently.
4. Stir in cream, Parmesan and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle mozzarella over top and transfer to oven.
5. Bake ~ 10 min until cheese has melted.

Remember: use an oven-mit when removing skillet from oven. You’re probably going, “Well duh!” but trust me, I’ve forgotten a time or two and it hurts, OUCH! The handle may stay cool when on the stove; it definitely won’t be coming out of the oven.

Ideas / Variations

• Add black olives, pepperoni, mushrooms – will begin to taste like a baked pizza
• Replace ½ cup of water with ½ cup of Vodka to make a Vodka-Cream sauce
• Add 2 anchovy fillets, rinsed and minced and sauté with garlic. Replace cream with red wine. Add ½ cup pitted Kalamata olives, coarse chopped with basil for a Puttanesca sauce.
• Serve with roasted broccoli, cauliflower or a nice tossed salad.

If you have any other ideas or variations, we’d love to hear from you. Enjoy!