Baked Ziti

Note:  I tripled this recipe and it made seven 8x8 pans.


1 lb. lowfat cottage cheese
2 large eggs
3 oz. grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 cups), divided
1 lb. ziti or penne
20 oz. turkey sausage
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
4 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 (28 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning or oregano
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. cornstarch
1 cup whole milk
8 oz. low moisture mozzarella, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

Whisk cottage cheese, eggs, and 1 cup Parmesan together.  Set aside.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Stir in the pasta and cook until pasta begins to soften but is not yet cooked through, about 5-7 minutes.  Drain the pasta and leave in colander.

Meanwhile, crumble turkey sausage and cook over medium heat until nearly browned.  Add in the onion and garlic and continue to cook until the onion is softened and the sausage is completely browned.  Stir in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and Italian seasoning.  Simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.  Off the heat, stir in basil and sugar.

In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and milk.  Transfer the mixture to the now-empty stockpot over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.  Remove the pot from heat and add the cottage cheese mixture, 1 1/2 cups of the tomato sauce, and 3/4 cup mozzarella.  Stir to combine.  Add the pasta and toss to coat thoroughly with the sauce.

Transfer the pasta to 8x8 inch baking dishes (2-3) and spread the remaining sauce evenly over the top.  Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan over the top.  Cover the baking dishes tightly with foil.  Put in gallon zippered bag and freeze.

To cook:  Thaw.  Bake at 350 degrees with the foil on for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 20-30 minutes, until bubbling and beginning to brown.  Cool for 10-20 minutes and serve. 

Adapted from Annie's Eats.

Nutrition info:  Based on a triple recipe making 7 pans and each pan containing 4 servings (in my opinion, this is a very generous serving):
Calories:  440
Carbs:  49
Fat:  13
Protein:  31