Baked Ziti Casserole
By: Anonymous
Published: Monday, November 30, 2009 - 5:11pm

Ingredients




2 mediums eggplants
salt
2 lrg zucchini
1/2 cup olive oil (optional)
1 pound ziti or penne
1 onion chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
2 28 oz cans whole tomatoes
1/4 cup basil leaves in strips
1/4 cup chopped parsley
pepper
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preparation

1 1. Peel the eggplants. Cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices, sprinkle with salt and put in a colander to drain. Pat dry. Slice the zucchini. 2 2. In a skillet, heat 1/4 cup olive oil and fry the eggplant and zucchini until browned on both sides. Take them out of the pan and drain on paper towels. 3 Lowfat Variation: spray eggplant and zucchini with olive oil and bake at 450F until brown. about 15 mins. 4 3. Cook the ziti in boiling salted water. Drain and set aside. 5 4. In a saucepan, heat the remaining 1/4 cup oil. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, basil, parsley, salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Pour into the bowl with the drained ziti. 6 5. Rub two shallow baking pans with olive oil. In the first pan, put 1/4 of the ziti, then 1/4 of the eggplant and zucchini. Dot with butter, add 1/4 of the mozzarella and then 1/4 of the Parmesan. Repeat the layers in that pan and do the same in the second pan. 7 6. Bake one of the pans in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes until the top is brown and crusty. Cover the other pan tightly with aluminum foil and freeze. Defrost before baking. Each pan will make 4 to 6 servings. 8 Yield: "2 packages" 9 NOTES : Here's a casserole to make from scratch when you have the time. Then freeze half the recipe, and you'll have a homemade frozen dinner another night.