Baked Ziti

Unlike King Ranch Casserole, this is one my kids will actually eat. On the other hand, they can't do much of the work on it either...

This is a delicious, easy, fairly quick meal that serves a lot of people - easily 5 or 6, maybe more. It reheats best in the oven (cover with foil and bake at a low temp.)

Hardware:
9x13 baking dish
foil
large pasta pot
colander

Software:
1lb penne pasta
2 jars pasta sauce of your choice (I like to use a basil, garlic and olive oil tomato sauce, but any tomato-based sauce will work)
4 cups shredded italian cheeses (mozzarella, parmesan, asaigo, romano, etc)
(Optional) 1 cup ricotta cheese
(Optional) 1 teaspoon red pepper flake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pasta pot, boil 6 quarts of water and a pinch of salt. Cook penne pasta, drain. Return to pot and stir in pasta sauce, 1/2 the shredded cheese, and the ricotta and/or red pepper flake (if using.) Spoon the pasta mixture into the 9x13 dish and cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour or until the center is thoroughly heated. Remove foil and top with remaining cheese; return to oven for 10-15 minutes. Allow to rest 15 minutes before serving.

Pro Tips:
I find that the ricotta adds calories, and little else.
The red pepper flake adds some needed zing to the dish, which can taste flat without it.
Some recipes for this use a ragu (meat sauce) or add finely diced pepperoni or some other cured meat to the dish. I have tried this but found the final product to be way too greasy.