Baked Ziti

I ran across this recipe a while back and decided to try it out tonight. We really enjoyed this dish and it wasn't hard at all to make. The original recipe calls for turkey italian sausage but, since I'm not usually a big fan of sausage unless it's in breakfast food, I decided to go meatless. The taste was great, it was filling, and we didn't miss the meat at all (and it also made for a cheaper meal, which is always a plus!). I made this but, since we couldn't possibly eat the entire dish and I'm in the process of stocking my freezer, I froze half of it, and we still had enough left over from dinner to have for leftovers later this week. If you are looking for a recipe for baked ziti, this is a great one to try. 

Baked Ziti

Recipe here from Annie's Eats

My changes/comments are noted below in italics

I N G R E D I E N T S :

1 lb. whole milk or 1% cottage cheese (I used cottage cheese but ricotta would be great as well.)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 oz. grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 cups), divided
Table salt
1 lb. ziti
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
20 oz. turkey Italian sausage (I did not use any meat and it was great. Just depends on if you want meat or not.)
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
5 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 (28 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil leaves, divided (I only had dried basil, so I used 1/3 of the amount it calls for)
1 tsp. sugar
Ground black pepper
3/4 tsp. cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream (or whole milk) (I used whole milk)
8 oz. low-moisture mozzarella, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

D I R E C T I O N S :

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350° F.  Whisk cottage cheese, eggs, and 1 cup Parmesan together in a medium bowl; set aside.  Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Stir in 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta; cook until pasta begins to soften but is not yet cooked through, 5-7 minutes.  Drain the pasta and leave in colander.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Crumble in the turkey sausage and cook until nearly browned.  Add in the onion and garlic and continue to cook until the onion is softened and the sausage is completely browned.  Stir in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and oregano; simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.  Off the heat, stir in 1/2 cup basil and the sugar, and season with salt and pepper.  

In a small bowl stir together the cornstarch and heavy cream.  Transfer the mixture to the now-empty stockpot over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, 3-4 minutes.  Remove the pot from the heat and add the cottage cheese mixture, 1 1/2 cups of the tomato sauce and 3/4 cup mozzarella.  Stir to combine.  Add the pasta and toss to coat thoroughly with the sauce.

Transfer the pasta to a 9×13″ baking dish and spread the remaining tomato sauce evenly over the top.  Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan over the top.  Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the foil from the pan and continue to cook until the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes longer.  Cool for 20 minutes.  Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons basil and serve. 

Inside out Ravioli

This is a very simple dish to make. The recipe calls for store-bought sauce, which I don't normally use, but I have to admit that it was a huge time saver. Rather than making one 9x13 dish, I made two small round pans and froze them because I'm having a baby in May and am currently stocking my freezer for meals in preparation. While we haven't actually had this meal yet, the few bites I sampled before freezing the dish tasted good, so I'm looking forward to trying it out in a few weeks!

Inside Out Ravioli

adapted from a recipe in The Christmas Cottage Cookbook

I N G R E D I E N T S :

1 (10-oz) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, cooked acc. to pkg. directions-reserve the water from cooking.

1 lb. ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 (15-oz) jar spaghetti with mushrooms (I used Ragu super chunky mushroom)

1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce

1 (6-z) can tomato paste

1/2 cup soft bread crumbs (all I had was panko so I used that, but any is probably find)

1/4 cup oil

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 (8-oz) pkg. shell macaroni, cooked

D I R E C T I O N S :

Bring a pot of water to a boil, and cook macaroni shells according to package directions.

Meanwhile, cook spinach according to package directions; drain well, reserving liquid. Set aside.

Brown ground beef with onion. Once finished,  add spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and spinach liquid. Simmer 10 minutes.

Combine spinach with bread crumbs, oil and cheese. Mix well and add to cooked macaroni shells.

Pour meat sauce over top of shell mixture, and stir until combined.

Spread in 9x13 baking dish (or two 8x8 or small around pans). 

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Serves 6-8.

broccoli-spinach bake

I'm trying to use up what food we have in our home right now. Tonight we had homemade pizza, and I made this side for something green to go with it. It's very similar to broccoli casserole...but it has spinach, and since I hate the word "casserole" (I mean, does anyone really like that word?!?!), I'm calling this my broccoli-spinach bake. We really liked it, and my child couldn't get enough...which isn't bad for something consisting of broccoli and spinach.

Broccoli-Spinach Bake

I N G R E D I E N T S :
1 frozen package of broccoli
1 frozen package of chopped spinach
2 Tbsp. butter
5 or so slices cheddar cheese (about 5 ounces maybe?), divided into strips
bread crumbs

D I R E C T I O N S :

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place frozen broccoli and spinach into a medium or large saucepan with butter and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and reduce to a low simmer. Cover, and let simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the broccoli is nice and tender. Add cheese and stir to combine. Cover and let cheese melt onto broccoli and spinach on low heat. Once melted, stir again. Place into a baking dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for around 30 minutes.

A more nutritious lasagna

I have been wanting to come up with a new lasagna for sometime now, and I finally did a couple of weeks ago. I was very pleased with the results of this recipe, and even made it for two friends who had each had babies...and one even ended up asking me fore the recipe!

This lasagna has a healthy sauce that incorporates a few extra veggies. Whole wheat pasta is ideal and what I normally use, but this past time I used white noodles because I was trying to go through what I already had in my pantry. From here on out, no more white pasta! It's whole wheat all the way from now on.

I referred to Giada De Laurentiis' bolognese and marinara sauce recipes when I came up with this sauce, so I must give credit to her! 

This sauce recipe makes enough for 2 large 9x12 lasagnas, or 4 8x8 lasagnas. This is wonderful, because  with the same amount of effort of making one dinner, you can have extras to freeze. I made 4 8x8 pans. We had one for dinner, froze one for the future, and froze two for giving to my friends. I love cooking ahead like this! That said, I'm listing the quantities to make the large recipe, so if you only want 1 9x12 or 2 8x8 lasagnas, then just half everything.

Lasagna
Sauce adapted from Giada De Laurentiis' Bolognese and Marinara Sauces in Everyday Italian


I N G R E D I E N T S :
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 small onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 tsp. sea salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 tsp. black pepper, plus more for seasoning
2 lbs. ground beef
2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes (I used home canned tomatoes given to me)
2 dried bay leaves
extra garlic and onion powder to taste
1/2 tsp. dried basil (I just sprinkled some in, so it might have been more. Fresh is always best, too!)
1 Tbsp. parsley
2 blocks mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
2 boxes lasagna noodles (whole wheat is best)
1 large container ricotta cheese (you may also use cottage cheese, if you prefer)
parsley for garnishing

D I R E C T I O N S :

In a saucepan, brown ground beef, on medium-high heat, stirring often, until beef is cooked thoroughly. Drain and set aside.

Heat oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and saute until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, and 1/2 tsp. of salt and pepper. Saute until all of the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add cooked ground beef, tomatoes, and bay leaves, and sprinkle garlic powder, onion powder, and basil and parsley. Simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour.

When sauce has nearly completed cooking, go ahead and boil the lasagna noodles according to directions.( If making entire recipe, you will probably need to boil each box separately because of the large amount of noodles. ) Drain and set aside.

Once sauce has finished cooking, remove and discard the bay leaves. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper, if desired.

If you want a smooth sauce without chunks, like I did, blend sauce with an immersion blender once it has completed cooking.

(This sauce can also be made 1 day ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat before using.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To assemble lasagna, spoon a small amount of sauce on the bottom of your lasagna pans. On top of that, make a layer of lasagna noodles, then spoon some ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese) over the noodles (I usually just drop dots onto it, but you can also spread it to cover the noodles). Sprinkle onto that a layer of mozzarella cheese, and then another layer of sauce. Repeat noodles, cheeses, and sauce 3-4 times, until noodles are used up or you've run out of room in your pan. For the final layer, you'll do one final layer of noodles, ricotta cheese, sauce, and then a good layer of mozzarella, and end with a layer of parmesan. Sprinkle some parsley over the top, if desired.

Bake freshly prepared lasagna uncovered for 45 minutes - 1 hour (check to make sure lasagna isn't getting overcooked on top) on 350 degrees. If it begins to brown on top, cover with foil for remaining few minutes.

For lasagnas you want to freeze:

Wrap lasagna pan(s) with two layers of aluminum foil, and label. Let cool for a few minutes on the counter or in the fridge, and then freeze until ready to use.

To prepare frozen lasagna, I usually just preheat the oven to 350 and cook it for 2 hours, covered most of the time. I remove the top layer of aluminum foil before baking and bake it, covered with one layer of foil, for 1 1/2 hours, and then I remove the remaining layer of foil and bake it uncovered for the last 30 minutes. You can also thaw the frozen lasagna in the fridge overnight beforehand and then bake it for a shorter amount of time. I prefer to just bake it completely frozen.