Oven-Baked Ziti with Sausage and Melted Cheese

Begin by preheating your oven to a high temperature of 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 175 degrees Celsius.

Next, take some time to prepare your baking dish by greasing it with a non-stick spray or butter, making sure it's the right size for your dish - in this case, a 9x13-inch baking pan.

While you're waiting for your oven to heat up, bring a large pot of salted water to a high boil over intense heat. Add your ziti pasta and stir it in, returning the water to a boil once more. Continue cooking the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until it reaches your desired level of doneness - in this case, about 8 minutes.

As the pasta cooks, heat a large skillet over medium heat on your stovetop. Add some sausage and cook it until it's nicely browned, stirring occasionally - this should take around 10 minutes. Remove the sausage from heat and set it aside for now.

In a separate bowl, combine some ricotta cheese, an onion, an egg, garlic, and oregano. Mix everything together until it's smooth and well combined. Then, stir in your cooked pasta, the sausage you set aside earlier, some salt and pepper, and half a jar of spaghetti sauce. Make sure everything is well mixed.

Now it's time to build your lasagna layers. Start by covering the bottom of your prepared baking dish with a third of the full jar spaghetti sauce. Then, layer half of the pasta mixture on top of that, followed by half of the remaining spaghetti sauce and half of the shredded cheese. Repeat this process one more time using up the rest of your pasta, sauce, and cheese.

Finally, sprinkle some basil leaves over the top of your lasagna and cover it tightly with aluminum foil.

Place your covered dish in the preheated oven and let it cook until heated through, about 20 minutes. After that, remove the foil and return your dish to the oven for a few more minutes - until the cheese is melted, 5 to 10 minutes.