Tuesday 28 November 2017

Not Quite Baked Ziti


I used to love the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. On the show, Raymond lives next door to his parents. To make him visit, his mother would lure him with her cooking, much to his wife Debra's annoyance.

One of Raymond's mother's specialty was Baked Ziti. I was curious of course and found out that ziti is a type of pasta. It is similar to penne except that it is straight cut and does not have ridges.

I went hunting for it at the supermarket but could not find any ziti. But I found something that I thought looked like it, but smaller and shorter.


Macaroni. I have baked pasta before using elbow macaroni and have not baked any for a long time. So it was time for some cheesy comfort food (very strange for someone who has a love hate relationship with cheese).


It was quite easy for me to put this baked pasta together because I already made meat sauce earlier (for something else) and these were in the freezer.

All I had to do was defrost and heat up the sauce, boil some macaroni and I was ready roll. I did what I saw on Youtube (hah..hah...) where you mix the pasta with the meat sauce and cheese and then you layer it with extra sauce in a casserole dish. Top up with cheese and bake!


I know this "baked ziti" of mine is somewhat lacking in the cheese department and it was not cheesy and creamy as what it should be. You see, I was greedy and made another 2 portions to freeze but I only had one packet of pasta cheese on hand.


But still, I enjoyed my meal (eaten in two sittings, ok?) and I have a feeling that a better version will be out soon.

26 comments:

  1. Never tasted baked ziti before. Your baked macaroni looked good. I had once. Cheesy but cannot finish all. Too cheesy. Lol.

    I used to watch that sitcom.

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    1. I thought the portion looked small but I could only eat half hah..hah..

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  2. Wowwww!!! Would love to give this a try, gotta buy some gluten-free pasta for this or my girl will not be able to enjoy it.

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    1. I saw some gluten-free pasta the other day. One day I will buy to try just to satisfy my curiosity as to how it tastes.

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  3. When I first saw your post title, I didn't know what ziti is until you mentioned it's a type of pasta similar to penne. When I saw the first photo, I thought to myself that looked like macaroni...and then I scrolled down...and bingo, it was...haha! :D When I googled, ziti looked more like macaroni (only longer) coz penne ends are usually cut diagonally, no?

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    1. Yes, ziti is like penne but straight cut and smooth. Don't seem to see it anywhere. Now I understand that pasta is the same thing only in different shapes and sizes.

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  4. I love that show, too! It's been ages since I've made baked ziti---I am now craving some cheesy pasta :)

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    1. Pity that the series ended :( I want to have some more but I'm saving up my carb quota hah..hah..

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  5. Ayyok...I pun xtau ada pasta nama ziti...nampak sangat masih kurang ilmu ni hahaaa..
    Btw sangat sedap baked ziti tu...kalau ada cis2 mmg suka sangat makan..nak buat tu x brp rajin hahaa

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    1. Peminat cis ya, Lina? Buat lah, tak susah. Just lebur2 aje :)

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  6. ah you are on your way to be a true blue cheese lover! I love to eat this!

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    1. hah..hah... Not quite, still cannot tahan certain type of cheeses.

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    2. But you are getting there.... :D

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    3. If you see me eat pasta carbonara or blue cheese, then I am there. LOL!

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  7. I love cheese and I will definitely love these! It doesn't matter whether it is ziti or macaroni, as long as it is cheesy and yummy-licious!

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  8. If I see any ziti in a local store, I’ll let you know! ;)

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    1. Thanks! I just hope that it is at a place near me hah..hah..

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  9. Everybody loves Raymond, wah, that was quite an old sitcom liao wo! But I remember it was quite a nice show~

    Ziti, seldom have it, in fact I am not sure if I have eaten it before, LOL!

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    1. The show made me LOL. hah..hah.. Maybe you have had other types of baked pasta. Lebih kurang same one.

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  10. Replies
    1. Maybe can try if you come across it...

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  11. Sedapnya..... tengok gambar pun dah tau mmg mewah dengan ingredients tu LL. Sos putih pun tebai tu ha. Pueh makan weyh!
    Bentuk dan nama je lain, Tapi rasanya macam sama je kan LL. Betul tak?
    Lama tak buat macaroni bakar ni...

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    1. Betul tu, Hainom. Pasta macam2 shape tapi rasa dia serupa aje.

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  12. My girl love cheese and tomato base pasta, she will be happily digging in your cheesy baked ziti!

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