Thursday, January 6, 2011

Slow Cooker Baked Ziti

This takes only a few minutes to assemble and is really, really good!!!  The sauce penetrated the noodles just like a baked pasta should and the cheese was gooey and delicious!  Best of all, it was a super cheap meal because the ingredients didn't cost very much at all!  I had one large helping, my husband had 2 helpings and my daughter ate a whole plate full!

I cooked mine on HIGH for 2 hours because I got it in the Slow Cooker so late today and the pasta was perfectly cooked!  I'm so impressed with myself!  LOL I love when I experiment with a recipe and it actually works!  Whoo hoo!

If I had more energy today, I probably would have added a 1/2-1 pound of ground beef to the sauce. Since I'm supposed to be bed-resting, I decided it wasn't a good idea to stand over the stove at all today!  Plus, I wanted to bring you a super easy and quick meal that you can make for your family!  As always, add what your family likes!

So, here's how you do it!

Slow Cooker Baked Ziti


Ingredients:
1 lb. Ziti or Rigatoni pasta, uncooked (Yes, that's right!  You don't have to pre-cook the pasta!!!!)
1 28oz. can Crushed tomatoes
1 15oz. can Tomato Sauce
1 1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
1-2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:


In a bowl, mix together the Crushed tomatoes, Tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper and salt.

In the bottom of the Slow Cooker insert, pour 1/3 of your pasta sauce.  
Add 1/2 of the pasta on top of the sauce.
Add another 1/3 of your pasta sauce.

Spread 1/2 of your Mozzarella Cheese on top of that.

Add the remainder of your pasta, the remainder of your sauce and the remainder of your cheese on top of that.

Cook on LOW for 4 hours or on HIGH for 2 hours.

Enjoy!
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21 comments:

  1. Hello! I've added myself to your followers here....from FB.

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  2. Welcome Denise! Glad you're here too! :)

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  3. Okay, I'm new to your site & I'm going to try this for dinner tonight, I just put it in the crockpot. I love knowing that dinner is done! Thank you.

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  4. Catholicmomoftwo- Welcome! So glad you're here! Let me know how it turns out for you! It's our leftovers tonight, so I'm excited! ;)

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  5. We tried this for dinner on Sunday and it was really good. The only bad thing was I literally didn't touch it at all so a few of the noodles that were around the outside of the crock pot were still very crunchy. I will definitely make this very yummy and easy dinner again but just make sure I stir it up a little bit more during cooking and then maybe put the cheese on more towards the end. Thanks for the great addition to our dinner menu!

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  6. You are most welcome Megan! I'm glad you liked it! Mine were only a bit crispy on top, but we liked it that way. I would definitely just do like you say and stir it once 1/2-1 hr before you're ready to serve it and then add the cheese on top. Let me know how it turns out the next time you make it!

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  7. Needed something in a jiffy for a Memorial Service at church. This worked like a charm. The only change was that i added one lb. chopped meat and sausage. It was delicious!

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    1. How long did it cook with the meat...did you add the meat in the bottom? First timer here on cooking this type of meal in a crockpot! Thanks :-)

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  8. So can you use diced tomatoes instead of crushed tomatoes bc I accidentally bought diced instead

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    1. You could, but I would put them in a blender first. You need the juiciness and the chunks of tomatoes aren't going to provide that.

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  9. So I made this dinner tonight, but tweaked the recipe, and i probably shouldn't have because it didn't come out very good. i didnt have crushed tomatoes on hand so i used a jar of Ragu Tomato Cream sauce and some water and some fresh tomatoes.. and i used Monteray jack instead of mozzerella; shouldn't have done that either. the noodles were REEEELY mushy from four hours on low.. like... the slightest touch turned them to paste.. very weird. maybe i can turn this weird dish into a baked cassorole in the oven with like a crumb topping or something... shoot i dunno. i was just trying to use what i had on hand, being a single mom and not wanting to go out shopping for ingredients. maybe this FAIL will teach me a lesson about not straying too far from the origanal recipe.

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  10. With this recipe when adding ground beef to it is it best to cook the meat before putting in crockpot?

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  11. I am making this tonight. Found your blog when I googled cheap crockpot meals. I'm using elbow noodles and regular pasta sauce with tomato sauce since I was out of the regular ingredients. Can't wait to try it in a few hours ;-)

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  12. Can you make this without the liner?

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  13. If I was to make this with chicken in it how could I add it in? I have 3 boneless chicken breast left from when I made the cordon bleu casserole that I need to use up any suggestions

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  14. I tried this last night for my family and everyone really liked it. My picky 2 year old had 3 helpings! I follow the recipe except I added hamburger that I seasoned with Italian seasoning, diced up onion and garlic, black pepper, oregano, and some salt. Thanks for the great recipe

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  15. This has become a family favorite. I add in pre-cooked Italian sausage and toss in some Parmesan cheese with the mozzarella. 😊

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