Baked Beef Ziti.

This is a Weight Watchers recipe, valued at 7 points per serving (8 servings total). It was tasty! Make sure you have a 4-qt casserole dish handy, although my 3.1-qt Deep Covered Baker did the job. You can use regular pasta. I did not use pre-shredded mozzarella, I shredded it myself. Reasons for this can be found here: http://carascookin.blogspot.com/2009/02/block-cheese-vspre-shredded-cheese_26.html

Ingredients

• 12 oz uncooked whole wheat ziti (more fiber, which means more filling)
• 2 Tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 lb uncooked lean ground beef
• 1 Tsp dried oregano
• 1 Tsp dried thyme
• 1 Tsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 Tsp salt
• 1/2 Tsp black pepper
• 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Direction

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat; add garlic and saute 2 minutes. Add beef and cook until browned, breaking up meat with a spoon (or a Mix-n-Chop!) as it cooks, about 3-5 minutes; drain off any fat and set pan back over medium heat.
4. Add oregano, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper; stir to coat beef. Cook until herbs become fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Spoon a small amount of mixture into bottom of casserole dish, just enough to cover the surface; top with half of cooked ziti. Next layer with half of remaining mixture and half of cheese. Layer with remaining ziti and then top with remaining sauce; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake until cheese is golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes.