Italian Meat & Veggie Pasta Bake

A casserole with layers of Italian meats, cheeses, vegetables and pasta.

3 tablespoons olive oil

½ pound diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup red wine

½ cup chopped onions

3 cloves minced garlic

2 tablespoons fresh basil

½ pound ground Italian sausage

½ pound zucchini, thinly round slices

1 small eggplant, thin round slices

Salt and pepper

¼ pound Ricotta Cheese

2 cups cooked pasta, rigatoni, penne, or ziti

¼ pound pepperoni, sliced

¼ pound prosciutto, shredded

½ pound grated Parmesan

6 ounces Mozzarella, grated

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in frying pan and add garlic, onions and salt and cook for about 10 minutes and add tomatoes, wine and basil and cook over medium heat until most of the liquid evaporates, about 10 to 15 minutes. Place this sauce in a bowl. Add sausage to pan and cook sausage until nicely browned and remove and drain on paper towels. In a baking dish spread 1 tablespoon of olive oil and place the slices of eggplant and zucchini in a layer on the bottom and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Crumble the sausage and ricotta over the eggplant and zucchini. Next spread half of the pasta over the sausage and ricotta. Next add the peperoni, prosciutto and Parmesan and the rest of the pasta. Pour the sauce over the top and sprinkle with the mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake about 20 minutes at 325 to 350, remove foil and bake another 10 minutes or so, until the cheese is nice and bubbly.