Baked Zitti and Homemade Sauce with Chicken

Tonight I made everyone's (my family and Rob) all time favorite, my homemade sauce and baked zitti. It literally just got done cooking so I want to go eat it... but here is a picture (UPDATED, RECIPE BELOW):

Alright-- so I am back and let me tell you it was delicious!!! Here is the recipe for the sauce (cooked in a crock pot of course! I love using the crock pot):

Ingredients:

1 to 2 whole yellow onions, diced

4+ cloves of garlic, minced (I say 4+ because everyone likes a different amount of garlic.. I used about 8 cloves)

1 Lg. can crushed tomatos (do not strain)

3 Reg. Cans of diced tomatos with basil, oregano and garlic (do not strain)

1 Sm. Can of tomato paste

2 tomato paste cans full of water

8+ Large fresh basil leaves, chopped (I like to use ALOT of basil)

1/8-1/4 cup of olive oil (approx)

1 Tb butter

1 Lb. Chicken, parboiled

Pepper (approx 1/4-1/2 tsp)

Lawrys seasoning salt (1/4-1/2 tsp)

Oregano (1/4 tsp)

Parsley (1/4 tsp)

Minced, dried garlic (1/2-1 tsp)

Italia seasoning (1/2 tsp)

Garlic salt (1/4 tsp)

Process:

First saute onions in a little olive oil and butter until soft over medium heat. Once onions are soft, add all fresh minced garlic cloves and saute for about 2 minutes (make sure the garlic does not burn). Then, add the onions are garlic into your crock pot. Turn to high heat. All everything else except for the chicken. Let it cook for about 1 hour on high heat, once hour is up, add chicken. Cook for an additional 3 hours. After 3 hours-- open the crock pot and gently shred the chicken apart. Once chicken is shredded, turn it down to low and let it cook for a least 1 more hour (preferably 2-3 more hours). Before serving, turn crock pot down to the "keep warm" setting for at least 10 minutes. And... that is it! With almost no work you have yourself a delicious and homemade sauce! YUM!!!

Baked Ziti assembly:

To make the beautiful dish you see at the top of this page... first cook 1 box of pasta so its almost fully cooked, but not quite. Once cooked and drained, take half the pasta and spread it into a 9 X 13 inch glass baking dish. Cover that pasta with lots and lots of the delicious sauce you made. Then, cover that with lots of shredded sharp cheddar cheese and an italian mix blend of cheeses. Once you have your desired amount of cheese... cover it with the rest of the pasta and cover the pasta with more yummy sauce. Make sure the pasta is completely covered with sauce. Then, sprinkle more cheddar and italian blend cheese over the top of it. Finally...cover the top of the dish with circular pieces of provolone cheese. Pop the dish in the over for 28-30 minutes on 350. Make sure you watch it so the provolone does not burn... it should turn brown, but not burn. After it is cooked, let it sit for 10-15 minutes before serving,this will allow the dish to come together and settle. Cut and ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!