Divine Pizza Casserole

Total Time: 2 hrs 10 mins Preparation Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• 14 ounces canned tomatoes (whole or diced)
• 4 fresh plum tomatoes
• 2 red onions
• 3 garlic cloves (skin left on)
• 1 bell pepper (red, orange, or yellow)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• dried basil
• pepper
• salt
• nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 3 cups uncooked pasta
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 6 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
• mace or nutmeg
• pepper
• salt

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 400°f
• 2 cut the fresh tomatoes in half and squeeze out the majority of the seeds. cut the red onions in coarse pieces or wedges. remove seeds from the bell pepper and cut it into 4 pieces.
• 3 pour the canned tomatoes into a baking tray. add the onions to the baking tray and sprinkle tray with sugar. put the fresh tomatoes and bell pepper strips into the tray, skin side up. sprinkle the vegetables with salt, pepper, and dried basil. drizzle with olive oil. place the garlic cloves on top.
• 4 roast the vegetables for 45-55 minutes until tender. remove vegetables from the oven and reduce oven temperature to 350f (for baking the final dish later). let the vegetables cool slightly. peal off the blackened parts of the bell pepper and the onions, and squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins.
• 5 transfer the vegetables to a food processor and process until smooth.
• 6 season the ground beef with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. brown the ground beef, while cooking the pasta according to the package directions.
• 7 drain any fat from the beef, then add the vegetable sauce. finely mince the fresh basil and stir into the sauce. if the sauce is too thick, add a small amount of the pasta water.
• 8 drain the pasta. add the pasta to the sauce, mix quickly, and then pour the entire mixture into a 9x11 inch baking pan.
• 9 mornay sauce: melt the butter, then add the flour and cook for a minute, but don't let it brown! pour in one cup of milk and whisk vigorously. the sauce will thicken slowly. add more milk until you have a consistency you like (about 1/2 c). season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg/mace. add 5-6 tbsp parmesan. simmer the sauce over very low heat for 2-3 minutes.
• 10 pour the mornay sauce over the pasta and sprinkle with a little extra parmesan.
• 11 put pan into 350f oven and bake for 30 minutes, until the pasta is bubbly and the sauce is golden brown.