The other weekend while hit is a big snowstorm. Wife wanted baked ziti (without ricotta) adn to go with it she wanted to try "crack" bread she saw online.
http://www.recipetineats.com/cheese-garlic-crack-bread-pull-apart-bread/ I usually don't care what we have for dinner, but this time I said indoor cooking only because I didn't want to deal with 25-30mph winds with snow to grill a protein and bread. Grilled bread is awesome by the way, but back to dinner on a windy, snowy night.
Out the kitchen window:
What you need for Ziti:
1lb of pasta
1 jar of your favorite sauce (the only time I use jarred sauce)
1 bag of shredded mozzarella or pizza cheese, if you want a cheese blend (8oz I think)
1 log of fresh mozzarella (or 2 mozzarella balls)
optional: I had fresh basil so I added it
9 inchish x 13 inchish pan
For the baked ziti we used smart taste penne, a compromise because I like plain white, and she like whole wheat. Smart taste is white with extras to make it healthy...er. While the pasta was boiling away (usually cook it 1 minute less than al dente), I made some slices off of a fresh mozzarella log, and what was leftover I diced to add to the ziti(penne). Once the pasta was cooked I drained it and added it back to the pot. I poured some of the jar of sauce and spread it along the bottom of the baking dish, and the rest I added to the penne along with half the bag of cheese, any leftover diced mozzarella, and some fresh basil if you have it. If you want add a cup or so of ricotta at this point too, I don't only because my wife doesn't like the consistency of it. Mixed it up and poured into the baking dish. Once level I sprinkled the rest of the shredded cheese on top, then arranged the sliced mozzarella on top of that. I did sprinkle of dried herbs and grated parmesan on top to make it look purdy. Pop it into 350F oven and let it work it's magic.
While I was making the ziti the wife made the garlic crack bread in the recipe link. I haven't had time to make it and take step by step pictures, BUT there is a video. Next time I think we will half the recipe on the bread, and get a smaller loaf. The bread we get is too much for 2 people. It was really good, and I think if you mix the herbs up to the flavor profile you are cooking it can go with anything!
Unbaked ziti:
Baked Ziti:
"Crack" Bread finished:
