Baked Ziti Florentine

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 lb ziti pasta
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 ounces ground chuck or 8 ounces ground turkey
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons italian herb seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 (10 ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1 1/2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Recipe

• 1 cook ziti in a large pot of boiling water according to package directions. drain and leave in a colander.
• 2 heat oil in same pot. add ground beef and onions and cook over medium- high heat, breaking up beef with a wooden spoon, 4 minutes or until beef is no longer pink.
• 3 stir in tomatoes, garlic, italian seasoning, salt and pepper. bring to a simmer, cover and cook 12 minutes for flavor to develop. stir in spinach and cook 3 minutes longer.
• 4 remove from heat.
• 5 heat oven to 375°f have a 13x9-inch baking dish ready; spray with nonstick cooking spray.
• 6 stir cooked ziti and cottage cheese into spinach sauce until blended. spoon into baking dish. sprinkle with cheese.
• 7 bake 30 minutes, or until top is golden.
• 8 ***note***.
• 9 the last time i made this, i had some leftover cheese sauce i needed to use up so i threw it in and it was great! made a creamier casserole that i actually preferred, but since the rest of the family likes both versions equally, i'm just addding this as a note.
• 10 here's the cheese sauce if you're intereseted:.
• 11 2 tablespoons butter.
• 12 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour.
• 13 1 cup milk.
• 14 1/4 teaspoon salt.
• 15 1/8 teaspoon pepper (or to taste).
• 16 1 cup cheddar cheese.
• 17 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard.
• 18 melt butter in heavy saucepan over low heat; add flour, stirring until smooth. gradually add milk; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. stir in salt, cheese and dry mustard.