Great comfort food. For a healthier dish use ground turkey, skim-milk mozzarella, low-fat or skim-milk ricotta, and whole wheat pasta.
Ingredients
- ground beef: 1 pound
- bulk sausage: 1 pound
- basil: 1 Tbsp (dried)
- oregano: 1 Tbsp (dried)
- ground black pepper: 1 tsp
- salt: 0.5 tsp
- olive oil: 2 Tbsp
- onions: 2 piece (chopped)
- garlic: 2 clove (chopped)
- tomato sauce: 1 can (29 ounce can)
- tomatoes: 1 can (28 ounce can, crushed)
- tomatoes: 1 can (28 ounce can, diced)
- roasted red peppers: 1 jar (16 ounce jar, chopped)
- mozzarella cheese: 2 cups (divided, shredded)
- ricotta cheese: 1 container (15 ounce container)
- Parmesan cheese: 1 cup (grated)
- ziti pasta: 2 packages (16 ounce packages)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Stir ground beef, sausage, basil, oregano, pepper, and salt together in a bowl.
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Cook and stir beef mixture in a large skillet over medium-high heat until browned and crumbly, 7 to 10 minutes.
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Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onions and garlic in hot oil until slightly golden and tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
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Stir beef mixture, onion mixture, tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and red peppers together in a large bowl.
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Stir 1 cup mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, and Parmesan cheese together in a separate bowl.
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Spoon 1/3 of meat mixture into the slow cooker; top with 1/2 the ziti pasta. Drop 1/2 the cheese mixture by rounded tablespoons over the ziti; carefully spread cheese mixture over ziti using the back of the spoon. Repeat layering process 1 more time. Pour remaining meat sauce over the top and place the lid on the slow cooker.
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Cook on Low for until ziti is tender, 6 to 7 hours (or cook on High for 3 to 5 hours).
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Sprinkle remaining 1 cup mozzarella over the top of the baked ziti and let stand until melted, about 10 minutes.
