I have been making this easy, tasty meal for years. I take it to most pot luck gatherings at the request of the hostess/host. A few of my friends suggested I make it for my column so they can share it with others easily. You can make this dish vegetarian or with meat. I use whatever I have on hand and it always turns out good. I think anything you cook with love in your heart will be a success.

Ingredients needed:

• 1 lb. box ziti pasta
• 2 jars or cans readymade spaghetti sauce\
• 1 8 ounce pkg mozzarella cheese or mixed Italian blend cheese
• 1 onion chopped
• 3 peppers, green, yellow and red
• 1 pkg sliced mushrooms 8 ounces
• Olive oil
• Garlic
• Seasonings like oregano, basil, salt, pepper
• Parmesan cheese grated
• Aluminum pan or glass pan
• Large pot to boil pasta
• Frying pan to make sauce

I always put all my ingredients and supplies together before I start to cook. This meal can be prepared in less than an hour.

Sautee onions in olive oil until brown

Step 1:

Chop the onions and peppers and sauté in olive oil in the fry pan until slightly brown and soft. Add seasonings to them while cooking. Add mushrooms towards the end as they cook quickly. Don’t for get to put the chopped garlic in and be generous as this will make the food taste better. Cook on medium to high heat.

Chop the peppers

Add chopped peppers to onions in frying pan

Step 2:

When the vegetables are soft you can add the readymade jars or cans of tomato sauce and lower the heat in the frying pan to low-medium. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or up to 1 hour. It will turn out fine either way and you won’t have to worry about timing it.

Add chopped garlic to the peppers and onions

Add mushrooms to the peppers and onions

Add spagetti sauce to the frying pan

Add seasonings to the sauce

Liz's ziti casserole sauce

Step 3:

While the sauce is cooking and the flavors are mixing in the frying pan you will need to cook the pasta. Fill a large pot ½ full with water and bring to a boil. I add a teaspoon of salt to the water and teaspoon olive oil so the pasta won’t stick. When the water is boiling add the uncooked ziti. Stir every few minutes and cook until the pasta is al’dente. That means it should be soft enough to eat but not mushy. You want a small amount of firmness because the pasta will continue to cook after it is pulled off the stove.

Add salt to the pasta water

Add olive oil to the pasta water

Add pasta/ziti to boiling water

Step 4:

Drain the pasta and pour it into the pan. Pour a little olive oil on the pasta so it does not stick.

Drain the ziti pasta

Pour ziti in the pan, add some olive oil

Step 5:

Ladle with a soup ladle spoon the spaghetti sauce from the frying pan. The pan will be heavy and it is safer to add the sauce in smaller portions. This method also allows the sauce and the pasta to infuse and the flavors will absorb into the ziti. Toss the pasta with the sauce. It should be wet. The sauce will absorb into the pasta and be less wet as the minutes go by.

Add spagetti sauce to the pasta

Step 6:

Sprinkle some parmesan and mozzarella cheese inside the pasta and toss again. Get some of the cheese inside so it will be cheesier. Use the remainder of the mozzarella on the top of the pasta in the pan. Add some parsley for color if you wish.

Add some parmesan cheese

Add some mozzarella blend to the casserole

Brown the top under the broiler

Step 7:

Broil the ziti casserole just until the cheese melts and gets brown. Don’t walk away during this step because the cheese cooks quickly. I have burned a few casserole tops and it can be easily avoided. Remember to turn off the broiler. Been there-done that. I wondered why the kitchen was so hot; oops I left the broiler on at 500 degrees. I did it overnight once and my cabinet walls were hot.

You should let the ziti casserole rest about 20 minutes. After that it is ready to serve and enjoy. This recipe makes 8 to 10 servings. It can be portioned out and frozen in plastic containers. Leftovers can be reheated for about a minute in the microwave. Serve with a salad and some garlic toast and you have a scrumptious meal. Remember to share some with a friend or neighbor and spread the Aloha Spirit where ever you live. Mahalo for reading my column. Email me with any comments or questions and I will reply.