My ziti is simple, delicious, and you can make as much or as little as you want.  The leftovers are just as good- if not better than they are the first night.  For this dinner, feel free to swap ingredients for your own favorites.

Ingredients:  ziti, oil, 1 onion (yellow or spanish), lean ground beef or lean ground turkey, 3-4 garlic cloves, oregano, pasta sauce, frozen spinach (defrosted & water squeezed out), parmesan cheese, grated mozzarella cheese    * for 1 lb pasta, use about 1 lb ground meat, 12 oz low fat ricotta & a 24- 26 oz jar of sauce. which serves 4 for dinner.  use more/less depending on how many servings you want to make

Directions:   Preheat oven to 400F     1. Start a pot of water & about 1 Tbs salt to boil for the pasta *cook pasta for about 3/4 the recommended time & drain    2. Dice 1 large onion & garlic cloves     3. Heat 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil (or vegetable oil) in a large pan     4. Saute onions & garlic in pan with salt & pepper     5. Add in 1 lb lean ground meat & brown     6. Drain off any extra oil/liquid     7. Add in 1/2 cup fresh oregano or 2 Tbs dry oregano     8. Add in pasta sauce & heat through     9. Remove from heat     10. Mix together cooked pasta & meat sauce     11. Add in about 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, spinach, & ricotta cheese     12. Mix it all together     13. Spread the ziti into a baking dish     14. Cover the top with grated mozzarella cheese     15. Bake until the cheese melts (15-20 minutes)

Notes:  I recommend low fat rather than fat free ricotta cheese, it has much better flavor & is still healthier than the original     2. Sprinkle a few spoonfuls (tablespoons) of water over the ziti before reheating so it doesn’t dry out     3. the ziti can be cooked in 1 large or 2-4 smaller baking dishes (bakes smaller dishes 10-15 minutes)  *smaller sizes are great for individual servings or for freezing servings to eat another time