Baked Ziti Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef, cooked and drained (I use extra lean)

• 1 (20 ounce) can hunts four cheese pasta sauce

• 1 (8 ounce) can hunts tomato paste
• nonstick cooking spray

• 1 (12 ounce) package ziti pasta (I use Barilla brand)
• 16 ounces small curd cottage cheese (full fat variety not fat free or skim)
• 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese (not the kind in the green tube but the kind in the cheese section that you grate or comes grated in )
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 10 white button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano

• 1 (15 ounce) can black olives

• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

Directions

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 350.

2. 2

   Cook and drain ground beef.

3. 3

   Saute green pepper, onion, and mushrooms and add to ground beef.

4. 4

   Add onion powder and garlic powder, oregano and 3 tablespoons of the tomato paste. Stir and set aside while you cook pasta.(al dente).

5. 5

   Drain cooked pasta and set aside.

6. 6

   Stir together the cottage cheese, sour cream.

7. 7

   Slice the black olives and add to the cottage cheese mixture.

8. 8

   Mix the spaghetti sauce and remaining tomato paste with the ziti.

9. 9

   Spray 9x13 pan with non stick spray.

10. 10

    Place half the noodles in the pan.

11. 11

    Top with meat mixture and a layer of parmesan cheese.

12. 12

    Top with the cottage cheese and sour cream mixture.

13. 13

    Top with a layer of the Mozarella cheese.

14. 14

    Top with the other half of the noodles and a final layer of parmesan cheese (the inside layers of cheese can be thin, just enough to add a cheesy layer).

15. 15

    Bake uncovered 30 minute or until hot and bubbly and cheeses are melted.