Baked Ziti to Die For!

I've never known anyone who didn't love lasagna. I've loved it since I was a kid and it was pretty much my favorite thing to eat. When I first met Mark he always talked about eating baked ziti. I never heard of it and figured I probably wouldn't like it, until I realized it was pretty much lasagna with ziti or penne pasta since in Nova Scotia doesn't seem to have ziti pasta. So I ended up falling in love with this cheesy, saucy and very delicious pasta dish. It pretty much makes enough to feed a small army, so be prepared for lots and lots of leftovers or halve the recipe. Mark eats like a starving Italian, so I make the full recipe.

Baked Ziti
2 1/2 cups grated mozzarella (divided into 1 cup & 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup parmesan
2 eggs
1 container ricotta
Batch meat sauce(I'll post the sauce recipe below!)
5 cups ziti or penne pasta

Make sauce.
Meanwhile, beat eggs, add ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella and Parmesan. Mix well. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Cook pasta for only 6 minutes. You don't want to cook the pasta too much because it'll cook in the oven too. Rinse Pasta in cold water to cool it and add to ricotta mixture. Mix well.
Split sauce into three. Layer sauce on bottom of casserole, then layer half the pasta cheese mixture. Do another layer of sauce, the other half of noodles and then finally the last layer of sauce.
Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes.
Sprinkle remaining cheese over top and bake additional 10 minutes.

I also only used mozza in the ricotta mixture because it was all I had so I added a little bit of marble I had left and some cheddar. Use whatever you have!

MMmmm.. My supper; a little plate of ziti & big bowl of salad! :) 

Easy meat sauce-
1 tsp olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
2 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp parsley
1 bay leaf
pinch salt
1 tbsp sugar

Heat 1 tsp olive oil in pot or skillet, add onions and garlic and soften.
Add ground beef and cook until done.
Add tomatoes, tomato paste. Stir well into meat.
Add all rest and stir until combined.
Bring to a simmer on low heat for about 45 minutes to an hour, without a cover so it thickens.
Don't forget to take out the bay leaf before you use the sauce.

I hope you guys love this recipe. It's one of my favorites!

Until next time, 

Jacqueline

Spicy Chicken Enchiladas

Mark and I have wanted Mexican food for a while. I'm not too much of a taco kind of girl and I like fajitas too, but I really have a big weakness for enchiladas since the first time I ever made them. The first time I even ate them I made this sour cream and green pepper stuffed ones with canned sauce, even though it was still good I wanted something more authentic. I found a recipe in the joy of cooking and changed the amounts of things to Mark and I's taste and have been hooked ever since. I hope you guys like this delicious recipe. Also, please excuse the quality of the photo's, my camera had to be charged and I forgot, so they're quite blurry!


Chicken Enchiladas
tsp oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 jalapenos, chopped
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 can tomatoes, drained
1 1/2 cups shredded chicken
8 large or 10 small flour or corn tortillas
1 cup shredded cheese

Heat oil in pan. Cook onions, garlic and jalapenos until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes or so. Add spices and cook for a minute or two. Add tomatoes, stir well and simmer 3-4 minutes. Puree this mixture in blender. Set aside. Shred up chicken. Mix half sauce with chicken. Put half remaining sauce into bottom of baking dish. The other half can be used for another dish for leftover enchiladas, or for the top. Heat tortillas in pan to soften them. Fill the middle of the tortilla with a few spoonfuls of chicken mixture sprinkle with cheese and roll up tortilla. Roll up all tortillas and put them so its the folded part side down. Sprinkle additional cheese, and bake ten minutes at 400F. I serve mine with fat-free sour cream and salsa. :)

YUM YUM YUM!!!

Enjoy! 

Until next time, 

Jacqueline

Baking Sunday!

Today I really needed kitchen therapy. I have really been stressing lately, and you know how it is; food is always there to comfort! This summer I discovered a fabulous recipe for buttermilk berry muffins that are absolutely divine! I have been thinking about them for a couple of days so of course I made those. Plus my little monkey of a fiancee wanted some banana bread, so we did a little search on epicurious and found a recipe for LOW-FAT banana bread, none of this 1 cup of oil business in this recipe! I hope you guys enjoy the baking, because I really really did!

Low-Fat Banana Bread
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup mashed banana (about three bananas)
1/3 cup buttermilk (or regular milk with a few drops of vinegar)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

-Preheat oven at 325F. Grease & flour loaf pan. 
-Beat eggs with sugar until fluffy; about 2 or 3 minutes.
-Mix in mashed bananas, buttermilk, oil and vanilla until smooth.
-Sift in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well.
-Pour mixture in loaf pan and bake 50 minutes to an hour.
-Also, let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes or so, then put on cooling rack.

Buttermilk Berry Muffins
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Zest of 1 orange
1 large egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups frozen mix berries

-Preheat oven at 375F. Line 2 muffin pans with papers or grease them.
-In large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and zest.
-In another bowl mix egg, buttermilk, oil and vanilla.
-Mix wet into dry, just until combined. Do not over mix!
-Fold berries into muffin mixture. (I cut up the strawberries and any big berries to make smaller chunks.)
-Bake 20 minutes, let cool and enjoy!

I hope you all enjoy!

Until next time, 

Jacqueline

Chocolate Granola! Yum!

I made this fabulous granola tonight that everyone will love! We finished off the cinnamon granola, and I really wanted to try something new; Chocolate granola! Boy, was it good! Of course we didn't eat it all! Mark and I shared a small bowl to taste. I hope you all love the recipe, it is a definite winner!

Chocolate Granola
3 cups oats
1 cup millet puffs
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 sliced or slivered almonds (I used sliced)
tbsp butter
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup water
tbsp vanilla
3/4 cup dark chocolate, chopped (I used semi-sweet mini chocolate chips!)

Preheat oven at 300F. Line baking sheet with parchment if you like. It doesn't stick much, so you really don't have to. In a small pot combine - water, honey, sugar, butter, salt and vanilla. Bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, mix all dry except chocolate chips. Once the liquid has come to a simmer, stir into dry mixture. Put on baking sheet and bake 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes so it doesn't burn. Let cool completely, then add chocolate chips. I bag mine up into 2 cups each, so about 4 servings in 3 small sandwich bags. Hope you all enjoy! :)

Until next time, 

Jacqueline