I love this dish! This is a wonderful dish to serve to guests...put a nice salad and garlic bread with it, and you will be a star! When I'm entertaining, I like to choose recipes that can be nearly finished cooking by the time my guests arrive so that I can have more time to visit with them rather than spending all my time in the kitchen :)

 

BAKED ZITI

½ medium onion, chopped

1 T. olive oil

2 gloves garlic, minced

1 lb. ground sirloin

1 (26-ounce) jar tomato & basil pasta sauce  (I use Bertolli)

¾ t. salt, divided

1 (16-ounce) box ziti

3 T. all-purpose flour

3 T. real butter

3 cups whole milk

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

½ t. pepper

1 (8-ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to the directions; drain and pour pasta back into the pot in which it was cooked and set aside.  Meanwhile, sauté’ chopped onion in hot oil in a large skillet over medium high heat for 5 minutes.  Add garlic and sauté 1 minute.  Add beef to the onion and garlic mixture, stirring often, until the beef is browned.   Drain beef and stir in sauce and salt and set aside.     In another small skillet, melt butter and whisk in the flour until smooth, thick and bubbly.  This will take just a few minutes.  Make sure your heat  isn’t too high and whisk in the milk then and parmesan cheese and the remaining salt and pepper to the flour mixture.   Pour this sauce over the ziti and stir until it’s evenly coated.    Transfer the pasta mix to a lightly greased 13x9 pan.  Top evenly with beef and sauce mixture and sprinkle evenly with mozzarella cheese.  Bake on 350 for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted.   Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.