Don’t put Clearasil on your Baked Ziti

by Donna on October 22nd, 2006

Friday night, Rob and I went to a fancy Italian restaurant where we had the most incredible meal. The salad was served warm with grilled eggplants sitting happily on top. Rob ordered Pumpkin gnocchi that just melted in the mouth. I ordered candy-shaped ravioli filled with bits of lobster and other shellfish. It was so yummy! I told Rob that we should try our hands at making dinner and he agreed. So last night, I made Baked Ziti. I didn’t follow my mother’s recipe. Instead I googled BAKED ZITI, hoping to find a recipe that contained both meat and ricotta. You’d think that would be pretty easy but it wasn’t. I must have been 5 or 6 pages into the search before I found this recipe. It was very easy and pretty quick. I have made an edit on the sauce and mozzarella amounts and because I changed the recipe a bit, I gave it a new, kick ass name. HOO HA!

Warm and Comforting Baked Ziti

1 lb Ziti, cooked
1 lb Hamburger, cooked
1 15 oz pk ricotta cheese
¼ c Parsley
½ c Parmesan cheese
1 Egg
1 c Shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 - 2 jars Tomato Sauce of your choice

Mix ricotta cheese, egg, parsley and Parmesan cheese together. Carefully mix hamburger with this mixture. Add ziti. Mix in 3/4 of the sauce of your choice. Spread in a pan. Put the rest of the sauce on top. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top. Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes. Yield: 6 servings

As I made the made the main course, Rob grilled eggplants so we could try to duplicate the Eggplant Salad. He found that the eggplants really soaked up a lot of the Olive Oil which turns out wasn’t a good thing. Regardless, once they were cut into little squares and placed on the salad, I thought it was delicious and just as fabulous as the salad at the fancy schmancy Italian restaurant near Rob’s farm.

Dessert was Lemon Squares that I made from a mix. I think it was Betty Crocker. It was so easy and didn’t take more than a 1/2 hour to mix up. After our fabulous dinner we put Thunderbolt and Lightfoot into the DVD player. Our running commentary seemed to focus on whether the Jeff Bridges character was supposed to really be as gay as he seemed. Sadly, something was wrong with the DVD. It just froze and no matter what I tried I couldn’t get it to budge so we just turned it off and went to bed.

Today is my cousin Preston’s Christening. I am looking forward to seeing my cousins. Rob is coming along so he gets to meet the rest of my dad’s side. Should be interesting.

Pasta and EGG Sauce

by Donna on February 22nd, 2006

My mother made a wonderful lunch this afternoon. It didn’t take her more than 15 minutes and it was DELICIOUS!

Here’s what she did:

She boiled tortiglioni (spiral) pasta

She emptied a jar of Paul Newman tomato sauce into a sauce pan and brought it to a boil.

In a bowl, she broke three eggs and scrambled them. (There were three of us so I guess she figured an egg for each)

Very slowly she drizzled the raw eggs into the boiling tomato sauce, stirring constantly. The eggs cooked in the sauce. Then she sliced a bunch of meatballs and put them into the sauce as well.

I’m sure you know what she did next. She drained the pasta, put it on plates and poured the sauce over it.

IT WAS DELICIOUS!!! Different from the usual spaghetti and meatballs but just as easy.

Give it a go!

Aglio e Olio

by Donna on December 25th, 2005

1 lb Angel Hair Pasta
2 tins of flat filet anchovies
1/4 cup olive oil or more depending on taste
6 cloves garlic, finely diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare Angel Hair Pasta according to package. In a small frying pan, sautee garlic in olive oil. Watch closely so it doesn’t burn, this is very important. The heat should be low. When the garlic is tender, empty anchovies into pan, oil and all, and heat. Use a fork or spoon to mash the anchovies. Add more olive oil as needed.

Once Angel Hair Pasta is drained, place back in pot. Pour anchovies, olive oil and garlic mixture over the pasta. Mix thoroughly. Serve in a big bowl.

Polly-O Speedy Ziti

by Donna on December 20th, 2005

1 pound ziti (or any large cut macaroni)
1 cup POLLY-O All natural Part-Skim Ricotta Cheese
2 cups (16 oz.) of your favorite tomato sauce
6 oz. Polly-O Natural Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, diced or grated
4 oz. Polly-O Natural Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, sliced
1/4 cup (2 oz.) Polly-O 100% Grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Cook macaroni as directed on package. Drain. Combine ricotta and tomato sauce. Pour over macaroni and blend.

2. Add diced mozzarella, salt and pepper, toss to mix. Place in 2 qt. casserole, cover with thin slices of mozzarella and sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese.

3. Bake 15 minutes, uncovered, in preheated 2=350 degree F oven until lightly browned.

Makes 6 servings.

Easy Yummy Meatloaf

by Donna on December 19th, 2005

1 pound ground beef
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
8 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Topping:
squirt of ketchup
squirt of mustard
handful of bacon bits

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix all meat loaf ingredients well and place in a baking dish. Shape into a loaf.

Topping:
Spread on loaf. Bake for 1 hour.