While I was raised occasionally on the blue box, when my first daughter was born, she wouldn’t touch the stuff. At all. So, since she loved cheese and noodles, we started making our own macaroni and cheese, and trust me when I tell you that it beats the boxed stuff hands down.

• 1 package noodles – radiatori, bowties and penne all work well
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small sweet onion, diced
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 small can sliced mushrooms, drained & chopped
• 1 Tbsp crushed oregano – more or less according to taste
• 1 Tbsp crushed basil – more or less according to taste
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
• fresh cracked black pepper
• shredded cheese – at least 2 cups, more or less to taste

Preheat oven to 325F.

Boil the noodles according to package directions. Heat the oil in a saute pan, and cook the onions until translucent. Add the garlic, carrots, red pepper (if using) and mushrooms and cook an additional 5 minutes.

Drain the noodles and set aside.

In a 9″x12″ baking pan, spread a layer of noodles and cover them with 1/3 of the veggie mixture. Sprinkle with a layer of shredded cheese, and repeat. Sprinkle the oregano and basil over the 2nd layer of cheese, and add another layer of noodles and veggies, as space permits. Lightly cover with a layer of cheese.

Put into the oven an bake for approx. 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and starts to brown.

Serve and enjoy!

For the big party last weekend I made the meat sauce… but I also made a vegetarian sauce for those that don’t eat so much meat. As today is Tami’s birthday, and she requested the recipe, here it is!

• olive oil
• 1 med. sweet onion
• 5 cloves garlic – minced
• 6 roma tomatoes
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with basil OR garlic and onion
• 1 large can crushed tomatoes
• 1 large-ish zucchini
• 4 mushrooms
• 8 carrots
• fresh basil & oregano – to taste

Put some water on to boil in a small saucepan. Set up a small bowl to one side of it with ice water in it.

Drizzle olive oil in a large saucepan. Finely dice the onion and saute until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until the onions begin to caramelize.

When the water begins to boil, add the tomatoes, one at a time. Blanche them until the skin begins to crack. Move them from the boiling water to the ice water, and transfer them into another bowl or your cutting board. The skins should peel right off.

Dice the tomatoes and add them to the onions and garlic. Let them cook down for about 3 minutes and then add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes and the crushed tomatoes.

Peel and chop the carrots and add them to the pot. Quarter the zucchini and add it to the sauce as well. Chop the mushrooms and add them in.

Roll the oregano and basil up like a cigar and slice the roll thinly. Add these to the pot.

I usually crash some black pepper in as well, and a pinch of salt.

Serve over pasta al dente!

**if you leave out the crushed tomatoes, this will almost work as a ratatouille dish, or serve it on top of sliced baguettes for a new spin on bruschetta!

I grew up making spaghetti sauce in a large pot. You make a big batch, because that’s how you can get all of the good stuff in. Then you freeze the excess. My husband calls my sauce “Spaghetti for 40 people” because I make such a big batch. But he can’t deny that it is good!

So, if you are having a large group of people over and need something to feed them all, or you are planning ahead and want to have a yummy, meaty sauce on hand for busy school nights, this is a recipe for you.

Give yourself plenty of time too. This sauce needs to be made a day in advance so all of the flavors can have a party together and really mix it up. I usually pull the sausage links and ribs out to serve either as a side dish or for a completely separate meal.

And yes, it is FILLED with meat and veggies! The way it should be.

• olive oil
• 2 medium onions – diced
• 1 medium bulb garlic – minced
• flour
• 1 package stew meat
• 1 package mild Italian sausage links
• 1 package ground hot Italian sausage
• 1 small package ground turkey
• pork ribs

• red wine
• balsamic vinegar

• 12 roma tomatoes
• 4 – 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes (with basil is a bonus!)
• 2 small cans of tomato paste
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with garlic, onion and basil
• 10 mushrooms – sliced
• 8 medium carrots – chopped
• 2 medium zucchini – halved and chopped

Herbs – to taste

• oregano
• basil
• savory
• white pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• rosemary

Yes, there are LOTS of ingredients in here.

I generally use a large saute pan at this stage, and pour everything into the large stock pot as it is browned.

Drizzle enough olive oil in your stock pot to just cover the bottom when warm. Put it on low heat.

In a large saute pan, drizzle olive oil and saute onions until translucent. Add the minced garlic and caramelize the garlic and onions. Deglaze the pan with a little balsamic vinegar or red wine. Pour this into the stock pot.

Add 1 can of crushed tomatoes to keep the onions from further browning. Fill the can with warm water and use a spatula to make sure that you get all of the tomato off of the sides. Pour this into the stock pot as well. Do this with each can you use.

Add a little more olive oil to the saute pan. Fill it with sausage links. While those are browning, dredge the stew meat in the flour to coat it. I generally cut the sausage links in half at least once they are browned. It depends on if you are planning to pull them out or not. If you are leaving them in, cut them into coins (approx. 1/2-inch wide slices) and brown the insides. When they are browned, pour them into the stock pot.

Deglaze the pan again.

In a medium saucepan, bring some water to a boil. Fill a medium bowl with ice water and set it aside.

Add some more olive oil and brown the stew meat. When all sides have been browned, add them to the stock pot.

Your water should be boiling now. Dip your roma tomatoes into the boiling water for about 30-60 seconds, or until the skin begins to split. Dunk them immediatly into the ice water. Move them to an empty bowl – the skins should slip right off. Discard the skins.

Brown the ribs, keeping them on the bone. These will be pulled out later and used as a separate dish. Trust me, it’s good. Toss them, bone and all, into the stock pot. Deglaze the pan.

While the ribs are cooking, dice the tomatoes and add them to the stock pot with 2 more cans of crushed tomatoes.

Combine the Italian sausage and ground turkey together in the saute pan, and brown them. Remove the excess grease and add them to the sauce. Deglaze the pan one more time to get all of those good browned bits off of the bottom.

Add the rest of the tomatoes, taking care to mix the tomato paste in well, and wash the sides of the cans, adding the tomato-y water to the sauce.

Add the chopped carrots and mushrooms to the pot and stir them down in. You may need more or less, depending on your preference.

Toss in the bay leaves. Using the palms of your hands, crush the oregano, basil and savory into the sauce. Cover the top of the sauce with a thin layer of pepper. Stir them all down in. I like to add a small sprig of fresh rosemary to the sauce, and pull it out with the bay leaves just before serving.

Let this cook down a bit before adding the zucchini. I usually leave in on low overnight to give the flavors the best chance to combine.

Add the chopped zucchini about 2 hours before you plan to serve it. If you have picky eaters, you can shred the zucchini to add the flavor, but no one will complain about it being in their sauce.

Taste it to see if you need to add any more salt, pepper, etc.

Before you serve it, make sure you pull out the ribs. If you plan to leave the meat in, remove it from the ribs now and add the meat back in. Make sure you get ALL of the bones out. Take out the bay leaves and rosemary sprig as well.

I usually serve the sausage links – cut into thirds – in a bowl at the side for those that may want them.

Boil your noodles of choice – penne, radiatori, farfalle, etc. – and serve with shredded cheese!

A meat lover’s dream sauce. Just don’t tell them that there are also veggies in it!

I call it baked spaghetti for the kids, but you can use any pasta noodles that you have on hand!

Ingredients:
1 pkg. pasta
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 large sweet onion – finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic – minced
2 Tbsp. minced leek
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes with basil
basil & oregano to taste
2 cups shredded cheddar

In a large pot, boil 6 cups water. Boil the pasta according to package directions.

In a small saucepan, heat oil. add the onion, leek and garlic and saute until translucent. Add the crushed tomatoes, basil and oregano and stir together. simmer for 10 minutes.

In a 9″x12″ pan, spread the cooked pasta and sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheese. Pour the sauce over the noodles and cheese, and spread around to cover. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake in a 325F oven for 15 minutes, or until the cheese in nicely melted.

Serve with bread – French, sourdough or garlic.