Pesto and Sausage Baked Zitti

I have been waiting for my house to cool down enough for me to be ok with using the oven again so I could try this recipe. And it was really good! Really really good!

I actually made all of this the night before but had forgotten to buy ricotta cheese. So I stored the noodles, meat/ sauce mixture, and grated cheeses in separate bowls. Then I put it all together at lunch (Sam had run to the store) so then I could just throw it in the oven when I got home and we had dinner in like 25 minutes! Woohoo! I had a couple random leaves of basil left over so I threw those in with the spinach because really you can't ever have too much basil right? If you are making it ahead I recommend not cooking the noodles so they're completely soft because then they'll be all mushy.

Oh also if you're not cooking for a crowd, you may want to half it. Or have a ton of leftovers like me!

But really so good. I loved it.
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2013/06/pesto-and-sausage-baked-ziti.html

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound ziti noodles
• 1 pound Italian turkey or chicken sausage, casings removed
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup pesto
• 9 ounces baby spinach (about 5 ish cups)
• 15-ounces ricotta cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan and set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the ziti and cook until al dente. Drain.
3. While the pasta is boiling, in a large 12-inch skillet over medium heat, add the turkey sausage, onion and garlic and cook until the sausage is cooked through, adding a bit of salt and pepper to taste (the amount will depend on the seasonings in the sausage). While it cooks, break up the sausage into smaller pieces. Drain any excess grease if needed.
4. Add the diced tomatoes, pesto and salt and pepper to taste (I added about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper). Simmer for 10-12 minutes. Add the spinach, stirring until it cooks down a bit into the hot sauce, 1-2 minutes.
5. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese and 1 1/4 cups of the Parmesan cheese.
6. In the prepared baking dish, pour in the drained noodles. Dollop the ricotta mixture over the top of the noodles. Spread the sauce over the top and sprinkle with remaining cheese (1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan).
7. Bake until heated through and golden around the edges, about 20 minutes. Let stand 5-7 minutes before serving.