Because I make up recipes as I
go along, it is sometimes hard for me to put them together for others to use. I
have put together the ingredient list for this batch.
Ingredients for the sauce –
Eggplant 1 medium
Yellow squash 1 small
Zucchini 1 small
Carrots 2 small to medium
Celery 2 stalks
Broccoli Because I always roast my broccoli and had a bit
left over I used that, but you can use it or leave it out, or you can add
cauliflower, fennel or really any veggie that will roast.
Red onion 1 small
Yellow onion 1 small
Green onion only because I had some that needed to
be used
Garlic 1-5 cloves whole (depends on the level of garlic
your family likes)
Italian parsley 1 small bunch leaves picked off stems
Tomatoes So you can use fresh tomatoes and roast them so I would
use about 5-7 big or equivalent amount of Roma or any tomatoes you have and or
like. I do like to use more red so the color is good. This is part of why I
like to use some canned as well.
Olive Oil I put my olive oil in a squirt
bottle and lightly coat the vegies before I roast them.
I cut the vegies into good
sized pieces and roasted on a baking pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper at
400* for about 45 minutes. Then I puréed them in the food processor and added
them to the sauce later.
Ground Beef
Italian seasoning
Garlic powder
Sea salt
Pepper
Canned Crushed tomatoes
Home canned whole tomatoes
(chopped in blender)
Bottled Pasta sauce (Wegmans)
Because of the amount of sauce
I was making I used some bottled and canned items.
Brown beef with seasonings and
drain off excess oil. I always season my meat when I brown it
Add the browned beef, pureed
vegies, and if using any canned tomatoes add them. I like to use diced tomatoes
as I like the pieces, but as not everyone is alike, I went with the more traditional
smooth sauce. If you don’t want to use all the roasted vegies, it is really ok.
I just find it a great way to use up some of the vegies in my fridge. You can
use any combination of vegies as well. If you don’t have some it is ok. If all
you have are a few carrots or a zucchini just use those. In fact after roasting
everything I almost forgot to put them in the sauce, and because the sauce was
so good I debated on whether or not I was going to. I put them in and it is
even better to me.
I use a combination of fresh
and bottled sauce but only will use the Wegmans brand of pasta sauce. If they
were not around I would make it all from scratch.
So for the sauce I usually put
all the ingredients in the pot, and add 1 Tablespoon of dried oregano, 1
teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil and
turn down to simmer on low for about an hour. (You could also do this in the
crock pot, just add all the ingredients and leave it on medium for about 3 -4
hours.) Once the sauce is done I turn it off and let it set to cool down a bit.
Ziti 1 box
Ricotta Cheese 32 oz (I used the part skim
but anything you like is good)
Parmesan Romano cheese ½ pound
Mozzarella Cheese 1-2 cups
I used penne pasta but you can
use ziti, or rigatoni. I cook the pasta for one minute less than the andante
instructions on the box. Drain and place in a large bowl. Add the Ricotta
Cheese and mix the cheese and pasta together. Then add the Parmesan cheese and
mix it together. Add pasta sauce about 4 cups to the pasta mixture. Mix
together and place in a baking dish or cake pan. I usually will take a spoonful
of sauce and place in the bottom of the pan to help so nothing sticks.
Place pan in 375* oven for
about 30 minutes or until the cheese if golden on top.
If freezing for later cover and
place in freezer.
Place frozen pan in oven after
removing the top foil and plastic. Bake at 350* for 1 hour.
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