Comfort Food Kinda Day

Today is rainy, cold & miserable.  Yay!  That means comfort food at my house.  I had a hankering for some good old Long Island Baked Ziti this week, & I decided to do something about it. I had cooked for a neighbor who spent the past 4 days running back to the hospital with her 1 year old, & made ziti & some meatballs in sauce for her.  I made enough for our family, but this weekend is Ribfest, so the ziti went into the fridge til tonight. : )

It's one of my go-to meals if someone had a baby, surgery or just a bad day.  I know there are more complicated & authentic versions of the recipe, but this is how it goes at my house - play with the sauce & spices to make it work for your family.  I added meatballs to mine this time, I've used a couple of different sauces, (honestly I usually make my own), & I have a huge crop of basil so I added a bunch of fresh basil to this last recipe.  It's very flexible & very forgiving.  Enjoy!
BAKED ZITI

1 16 oz box ziti
1 26 oz jar spaghetti sauce
1 16oz Ricotta cheese
2 c mozarella
1/2 c Parmesan cheese

Cook the pasta til it's just shy of al dente.  Remember it's going to bake & you don't want mushy pasta.
Combine the spaghetti sauce, ricotta, mozarella & parmesan cheese.  When pasta is cooked, drain & add to the sauce mixture.  Pour into a greased 9x13 pan.
You can sprinkle with additional mozarella - I highly recommend it.
Bake 350 for about 30 minutes til heated through & cheeses melted.