Baked Ziti

Again, just somethig I was trying out.

2 TBSP of olive oil
1 onion chopped
4 cloves of garlic chopped
2 stalks of celery chopped
2 carrots chopped
(**note--I run all my veggies through my food processor until very finely chopped.  Remember the people I feed don't like to be able to see veggies in their food)
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
2 cans (28 oz each) crushed tomatoes
1/2 C chopped Italian parsley
16 leaves of chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 C of grated parmesan cheese
1 box of ziti, boil/cook according to directions
1 container of cottage cheese or ricotta
1 bag of shredded mozzerella

Heat olive oil and add veggies.  Saute.  If they are coursely chopped heat until onions are almost translucent, if they are finely chopped, 3 to 5 minutes.  Add in meat and brown throughly.  Break uipall large chunks.  (You do not have to, but you can drain mixture once meat is browned).  When meat is brown, add tomatoes and herbs.  Season with salt and pepper.  Spray a casserole dish, in the bottom place some sauce to cover bottom.  Add a layer of noodles, top with cottage cheese, then sauce, noodles, cheese, etc. until you either fill the dish or use all ingredients.  Top with mozzerellla and parmesan.  Bake at 350 until bubbly. 

NOTE:  I got a recipe for bolognese sauce from my friend Tim--Thanks Tim!  And then I tweaked it to fit my family's tastes.  I served this to six people, in addition to my family this week and got rave reviews.  :)