Ziti Zupper

I wasn't able to start cooking dinner until 9:30 last night, so it's a good thing I could build a quick and easy meal from the sausage I already thawed.  I decided to make a baked ziti so I sauteed onion and Italian sausage (I used one link each of sweet and hot) and once the onions were translucent and the meat browned, I added jarred tomato sauce (store shortcut - this is the quick and easy version, after all) and let it simmer.  I did all this while I cooked the pasta and shredded the cheese.  I used a young fontina for the cheese because I love the way it melts.  It also has a mild earthy flavor that I prefer to the pre-shredded, sodium-laden mozzarella in a bag.  For the top layer of cheese, I mixed the fontina with fresh grated parmesan because you can't have a pasta dish without parm and it helps create a nice crust.  Everything was cooked and hot so it only needs to go into the oven to brown the cheese and melt together.  Ziti is quick and easy to prepare, and if you use ingredients like sausage and fontina, it will not taste like it came from a cafeteria - those ingredients made all the difference.  Plus, it reheats beautifully, so if you have two busy nights in a row (like I probably will) you won't have to worry about cooking at all the next day.