Baked Ziti

Total Time: 3 hrs Preparation Time: 2 hrs Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 10
• 4 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
• 2 -3 teaspoons basil
• 2 -3 teaspoons oregano
• 3 cloves crushed garlic (or more)
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 -3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 -3 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons good quality olive oil
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• meatballs (browned only)
• uncooked italian sausage, cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces
• 2 lbs ziti pasta, cooked and drained
• 1 1/2-2 lbs ricotta cheese
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 -3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Recipe

• 1 begin by preparing sauce as follows: in a large dutch oven, saute onions and garlic in olive oil 1 or 2 minutes.
• 2 empty all four cans of crushed tomatoes into pot.
• 3 add basil, oregano, salt, crushed red pepper and brown sugar.
• 4 stir, bring to a boil and let simmer about 20 minutes.
• 5 stir sauce (this is when i usually will"taste adjust" any ingredients such as brown sugar and salt).
• 6 add meatballs that have just been browned and uncooked itailian sausage.
• 7 cover and simmer sauce for about 1 1/2- 2 hrs.
• 8 about 10 minutes before sauce is done, mix ricotta cheese, eggs and parmesan cheese in a large bowl.
• 9 add about 2 1/2 cups of sauce to the cheese mixture and mix well.
• 10 (keep remaining sauce with meatballs and sausage warm).
• 11 toss cooked ziti with cheese/sauce mixture and spoon into a 9x13 inch baking pan.
• 12 (you may need a larger pan or more than 1 pan).
• 13 sprinkle pasta with mozzarella cheese.
• 14 bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hr.
• 15 serve pasta with the extra sauce, meatballs and sausage ladled over top of each serving.