Baked Ziti

(Shared recipe submitted by Sue Cabral.)

Serves 15 to 20 on a buffet

Sue writes: "I always look forward to potluck dinners. I guess this would be considered a main dish, one of my favorites. It makes enough to feed about 15 to 20 people on a buffet line. This dish stays fairly warm for a long period of time because of its size."

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork or sausage
• 2 onions, roughly chopped (preferably sweet onions)
• 2 bell peppers, roughly chopped (can use any color you like)
• 2 cans (28-ounces each) of chopped tomatoes or tomato puree, depending on whether you like chunks of tomato or not
• 8 cloves garlic, crushed, more or less to taste
• Basil, oregano, parsley, preferably fresh (can use dried to taste)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Red wine
• 2 boxes (16-ounces each) ziti pasta, with or without ridges
• Olive oil
• 3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese (can use a combination of Italian cheeses)

Preheat oven to 350° F. In a large bowl combine the first 8 ingredients until just mixed. Transfer to a large skillet and cook until meat is cooked well through. Add red wine if mixture seems a little dry or even just to flavor.

While this is cooking, cook the two boxes of ziti according to directions on the package and drain; do not rinse. In a large bowl, big enough to accommodate the macaroni as well as the sauce you are making, toss macaroni with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When sauce is done add to bowl with macaroni and toss to coat evenly. Place in pan (see notes below) and sprinkle on all the cheese. Bake, covered with foil, for 30 minutes if warm, an hour if previously prepared and refrigerated. Uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Notes: I use one of those disposable aluminum turkey pans for this. They are cheap and you do not have to worry about retrieving a dish from a host's house or washing it later on.

Disclaimer: This recipe was submitted by a contributor and has not been tested by TerisKitchen.com.