I made this recipe; however, I used ground turkey instead of beef. The pasta did cook during the baking process, but it tasted pasty. I believe that was due to the ricotta cheese. The recipe called for 1 1/2 pounds of ziti and I used 1 pound 2 ounces along with the 1 cup of ricotta cheese. The next time I make it I will use less ricotta cheese. However, the next day it tasted much better and less pasty. So like someone else said it is better as a leftover meal.