Picture Perfect Cooking

Have you visited Plain Chicken yet?  No, well, as soon as you are done here, get yourself on over to their place.  Their recipes are amazing and I have loved every one of them I have tried.  This is another success.  They call it One Pot Baked Ziti, but since I didn’t have any ziti noodles, mine is Baked Rotini instead.

I also used 2 dishes for mine since I was travelling with it so I guess that makes mine TWO Pots Baked Rotini.  No matter what you call it, it is still DELICIOUS!

1 lb. Italian sausage

1 tbsp. minced onion flakes

4 cloves garlic, minced

28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 tsp. Italian seasoning

2 cups water

12 oz. rotini (or pasta of your choice)

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook the Italian sausage over medium heat in an oven safe pan until brown.  Drain off the fat.  Add the onion flakes and garlic.  Cook for about a minute until the garlic becomes fragrant.  Stir in the tomatoes, salt, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning.

Add the water and pasta.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cover the skillet. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the pasta is cooked.

Remove the skillet from the heat and add the ricotta cheese and cream.  Cook on low for 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat again and add the mozzarella cheese.  Broil in the oven just until the cheese is melted.  This is awesome served with a big salad and garlic bread.