Baked Ziti Pizza

Total Time: 45 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 favorite pizza crust (14-in)
• 14 1/2 ounces diced tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 lb ziti pasta
• 7 1/2 ounces ricotta cheese
• 7 -8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
• freshly grated parmesan cheese

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 550, or the highest your oven goes.
• 2 dump the can of tomatoes in a blender and pureed. i like to use zesty jalepeno, for a little kick!
• 3 add spices and bring to a simmer. reduce to the consistency you prefer for your pizza.
• 4 cook ziti according to package directions.
• 5 while the ziti is cooking, prepare your pizza crust on a peel or in a pizza pan, dusted with cornmeal.
• 6 when ziti is done, drain well.
• 7 combine about 3/4 of the sauce with the ziti, ricotta, and about 3 oz of the mozzarella. it's best to do this while everything is hot, so the cheeses will melt together.
• 8 spread the mixture on the prepared dough.
• 9 cover that mixture with the rest of the sauce, and then cover that with the rest of the mozzarella.
• 10 sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.
• 11 place pizza in oven and cook at 550 for about 10 minutes, until the bottom of the crust is browned, and the cheese is melted.
• 12 remove from oven, let cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting.