Baked Ziti (G.F.)

This is a version of my Grandma's recipe that I tweeked a bit, both to suit my own tastes as well as make it a little more gluten-intolerant friendly!Italian food has always been a love of mine, so hitting the road block of Celiac's disease was a real hard thing for me to come to grips with...pasta is loaded with gluten. Thank goodness for the gluten free pastas out there! The brand 'Schar' has become my favorite so far. Great texture and flavor, I use it in all of my dishes and everyone says that if they didn't know it was gf they never would've guessed! Here's the recipe:

[Meredith Sizemore Photography]

Boil up your pasta first in well salted water with a tsp of extra virgin olive oil. This will prevent the pasta from sticking together!I like to use enough pasta to fill a standard 9x9 baking dish with this recipe.You can feel free to use whatever type of pasta you like but I typically use either ziti or fusifella! While your pasta is boiling, take out a small bowl. Add 8 ounces of whole milk ricotta cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 cup of chopped fresh parsley, and 2 tbsp of oregano. Mix these ingredients together well. When your pasta is finished, drain and rinse it well in a colander. Take out your ungreased 9x9 baking dish and coat the bottom with a layer of your favorite pasta sauce. I jump between my homemade meat sauce and Prego's tomato, basil, & garlic sauce depending on my mood and how much time I have! Add in a layer of your pasta then cover with a layer of the cheese mixture. I like to take a large spoon and stir around the layers a bit so that you get some of the cheese in every bite! Repeat the layering and stirring process until the pan is nearly full. Pour the remaining sauce on to the top and spread it around evenly. Sprinkle with as much mozzarella as you wish to top it all off! Put into a 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes or until all of the cheeses are nice and melted and the dish is piping hot.

ENJOY!