What’s Cookin’?: Val’s Baked Pasta w/ Roasted Tomato Sauce Recipe

Each Monday morning on The CB Radio Show, Brett and I are featuring a brand new recipe shared with us by one of the awesome ladies who've agreed to be a part of our new segment called What's Cookin'?  And, this week, Valerie Holcomb is back in the studio with a delicious recipe for homemade pasta sauce.  It's her roasted tomato sauce that goes great with any pasta dish!

VAL'S BAKED PASTA WITH ROASTED TOMATO SAUCE

Cut tomatoes into large chunks. Cut onions into large slices, chunk cut green peppers, slice garlic into large pieces. Place all onto a cookie sheet, add whole fresh basil leaves. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and bake in a 300 degree oven till desired doneness.

This sauce is quite versatile, it can be frozen for later use-as I did this time-and then simmered to cook off the excess water. You can also puree it for a smoother consistency-making a great pizza sauce or a topping for my Deconstructed Eggplant Parmesan.

This time I used the simmered sauce in a baked pasta dish-constructed as follows:

Baked Pasta

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Ziti or similar pasta with a lot of surface area for the sauce works best. Cook to al dente. When done, drain and drizzle with a little olive oil to prevent it sticking together.

Sauté sliced onions and green peppers in olive oil until lightly browned.

Spread some of the sauce on the bottom of a deep casserole dish. Next a layer of the pasta topped with grated parmesan cheese. Layer on some sautéed veggies, top that with sauce. Snip fresh basil leaves atop the sauce and repeat layers to fill the dish. Finish with course grated cheese.

Cover with foil to keep in moisture and bake approximately 20 minutes or until heated through.

Enjoy with a light salad and perhaps a slice of garlic bread.

What's Cookin'? is sponsored weekly by Murphy Appliance Company!