Noel's Birthday Part 1

Well the fun of the blog thing wore off a little bit. And then of course there was the computer virus, which limited internet availability for several days. Add in family stuff, and just normal life--and here we are, two weeks later! But today I've made a bunch of delicioso food, so I thought I'd give it another go. Besides after all that cooking, and after washing three piles of dishes like the one above, I need a reason to sit down for a little while!

Today is Noel's birthday! We're celebrating with his family today, and my family tomorrow. So today I'm doing hamburgers with all the fixings, ice cream sandwiches, and butter cupcakes with chocolate ganache for 10. Then tomorrow it's my "famous" pasta casserole with homemade tomato sauce, a berry yogurt cake, and probably some leftover cupcakes, for 15 people this time.

The butter cupcake recipe and the yogurt cake recipe were both adapted from Orangette's blog. The tomato sauce and pasta casserole are both entirely my own creation....

Tomato Sauce

56 ounces canned diced tomatoes
45 ounces canned plain tomato sauce

1 cup diced onion

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

4 tbsp butter

1 cup fresh basil, chopped

2 tsp salt

salt and pepper to taste

In a large stockpot combine tomatoes, tomato sauce, diced onion, garlic, and half the basil. Simmer uncovered over medium high heat until it starts to bubble, let it bubble for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in 2 teaspoons salt and the four tablespoons butter, once the butter has melted in turn heat down to low. Put on the lid, let it simmer on low heat for about ninety minutes, stirring every ten minutes or so. At this point add salt and pepper to taste, and add the other half of the basil. Simmer uncovered for about twenty more minutes, or until the stockpot is about 2/3 as full as it was to start with, and the sauce is thick and shinily red.

Ladle sauce into glass jars or other containers, let them sit uncovered on counter until they've cooled off before putting the lids on. Seal jars tightly, then refrigerate. It'll keep for about two weeks in the fridge, or can be frozen for up to a month. I filled three 24 oz jars all the way, and one jar three quarters of the way with this amount.

Pasta Casserole

1 lb pasta, such as elbow macaroni or mini penne

2 lbs sweet italian sausages, casings removed

3 bell peppers, preferably three different colors

1 medium onion

40 oz tomato sauce (that's one and 3/4 jars from the above recipe)

8 oz fresh ricotta cheese

12 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

3 oz shredded parmesan cheese

Boil pasta just until al dente. Drain immediately, place pasta in a very large bowl and set aside. Meanwhile, dice bell peppers and onion into half inch pieces, spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray, bake vegetables in oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, until slightly blistered. While the vegetables are cooking cut the italian sausages into half inch pieces. Place in large skillet, cook covered for about six minutes, then remove lid and cook for an additional two to three minutes, stirring often, till sausage pieces are browned on all sides.

Add the tomato sauce, ricotta cheese, half the mozzarella cheese, and the parmesan cheese to the bowl of pasta, stir until well combined. Stir in sausage pieces and diced vegetables. Divide the pasta mixture between two 9X13 baking pans. Sprinkle the casseroles with the remaining mozzarella cheese.

Bake the casseroles at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese on top is melted and the casserole is hot. Eat hot! (Or refrigerate, and then reheat in the oven the next day--it's always better the second day, after the flavors have had a chance to meld.)