Baked Ziti

This is a great recipe for cold days when you crave something warm and delicious. It makes a ton but both the sauce and the pasta freeze well. I am a "dump cook" and don't have exact measures for my sauce recipe - the recipe below is my estimation of what I would use. My family loves it when I make this and the smell of the sauce simmering all afternoon is wonderful!!

• Ready In: 3 hrs
• Serves: 10-12

Ingredients

• Sauce

• 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

• Pasta Mixture

• 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

Directions

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.