Baked Ziti

Well, I am getting good use out of my new freezer.  I made baked ziti Saturday night and froze half of it for later.  Since this dish serves 12 then it is perfect for freezing.  Sometimes I will just keep a 1/3 out for us and freeze 2/3 for when I have company or just do it in half and Matthew will get to take leftovers once or twice.  This is another dish that takes some planning as the cooking time is long but your actual time in the kitchen isn't bad.  You can get other things done while it's going, but it's not a good meal to make if you've been gone all day.  It is absolutely worth it though if you have the time.  The sauce is best if it simmers for a few hours, or even all day in the crock pot, and it takes an hour in the oven.  Ok, I won't make you wait any longer here's the recipe.

The sauce!  Brown you meats with the onion and garlic.  Drain if needed.  Then you're gonna stir in your spaghetti sauce and tomatoes.  Then the simmering begins, let it simmer, stirring every once in a while for about 30 minutes.  I have learned with any tomato based sauce the longer it simmers the better, I sometimes make the sauce earlier in the day then put it in the crock pot to simmer til I'm ready for it.

While that's simmering, cook your pasta and then mix your cheese mixture.  Mix the ricotta, Parmesan, half the mozzarella, the egg, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.

After that you just need to layer the ingredients in a 9x13 pan (or two 8x8's if you will be freezing half) and top with the remaining mozzarella.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour and you have plenty of time to clean up and even get something else done before dinner time. 

This is very good with Quick Bread Sticks, and a salad.

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Baked Ziti
Serves 12

1 lb ground meat (1/2 beef, 1/2 pork sausage)
1/2 medium onion chopped
1 garlic clove minced
1 26-28oz jar spaghetti sauce
15 oz ricotta cheese
16 oz tubular pasta, cooked and drained
16 oz Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1 can petite diced tomatoes (drain half the juice)
1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese


In a large saucepan, cook meat, onions, and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
Stir in spaghetti sauce and tomatoes, cover and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

In a bowl, combine ricotta, 8 oz mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, egg, salt and pepper.

In a greased 9x13 baking dish, spread 1 cup meat sauce. layer 1/2 the pasta, 1 cup meat sauce, and one half the cheese mixture.  Repeat layers (pasta, sauce, and cheese).  Top with remaining sauce.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

**sometimes I will put a grated zucchini and/or carrot in the sauce during the simmering to add a few more veggies to the dish, just depends on what I have on hand.  If you add vegetables though, drain both cans of diced tomatoes.


Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Santa Fe Rice and Beans

I absolutely love this meal. It is so easy and versatile. It's also a crowd pleaser, so I like to make it to take to our church potlucks on Sundays.  This weekend was crazy so we didn't stay for potluck but I made it anyway for us to have at home.  And of course I forgot to take pictures til the end so all I have is the one.




This is without the cheese since I plan on serving it cold, I will add the cheese later


First start your rice cooking. Then open and drain all the cans except for the Rotel.  After that, get out a big mixing bowl and start dumping in cans, sounds easy huh? My 8 year old loves to help with the dumping part. 

If I'm putting meat in it, I will cut it up and put it in at this point.  We grilled this weekend, so I had my husband grill a few extra chicken breast, and I put those in for my meat. 

Then in goes the rice and cheese, stir to combine.  If you are heating it put it in a 9x13 pan or a large casserole dish.  Bake for 20 min at 325 degrees.

It's also good served cold, so you could make it in advance.  All you have to do it pull it out of the refridgerator when you're ready to serve.  The only thing I like to do differently if I serve it cold is just don't add the cheese till I'm ready to serve or it will melt some with the rice since it is still warm when I first mix it. 

This is very good served with tortilla chips, over a green salad, or with flour tortilla shells.  I've also doubled the rice before and just served it alone, like I said it's very versatile. 


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Sante Fe Rice and Beans

2 cans of pinto beans, drained
2 cans of black beans, drained
1 can Mexicorn, drained (or use a can of regular corn and add chopped bell peppers)
1 can Rotel, not drained
1 small can of sliced olives, drained (optional)
2 cups cheese
1 cup brown rice, cooked
salt and pepper to taste
This can be prepared with or without meat. I like to add part of a rotisserie chicken, or a pound of pork chops cooked and cut into bite size pieces.




Prepare meat and rice.  In a large bowl mix olives, beans, corn, salt and pepper, Rotel, and meat.  Add in rice, and if heating add in cheese as well.  If serving chilled, add cheese when ready to serve.  Combine well.  Either leave it a cold dish, or bake it in the oven for 20 min at 325 degrees.  I serve this with tortilla scoop chips, or also good in a flour tortilla or over a salad with some salsa or ranch as dressings.

Poppy seed Chicken

Poppy seed chicken is an absolute favorite around here.  The girls even like it, but won't just dig in themselves we actually have to feed it to them.  This can be a pain but once you taste it you will realize why we bother and make it anyway, it's just that good.

You start by boiling 2-3lb of chicken, I like mine on the meaty side so I go with 3 lbs.  While the chicken is cooking, in a large bowl I put together my 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, 12 oz of sour cream with salt and pepper to taste.  After the chicken has cooked, remove from pan, and cube into bite-sized pieces.  Stir into your large bowl with the soup mix you've been working on.

In a seperate medium bowl combine 2 1/2 - 3 sleeves of ritz crackers, crushed, 2-3 Tbsp poppy seeds, and 2 sticks of melted butter.  Stir till well coated with the butter.

In a 9x13 pan spread half of your cracker mix on the bottom of the pan the pour in your chicken mix.  Top with the other half of the cracker mix and place in the oven at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or until bubbly.

We love this served with mashed potatoes and green beans.

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Poppy seed Chicken

Oven Temp: 375 degrees  Time: 30 minutes  Serves:8-10

3lb Chicken cooked and cubed

12oz sour cream
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 1/2 - 3 sleeves Ritz crackers, crushed

2-3 Tbsp poppy seeds

2 sticks of butter, melted

Boil your chicken then transfer to cutting board and cube in bite-sized pieces.  Mix together the chicken, sour cream, and chicken soups.  In a separate bowl mix crackers, poppy seeds and melted butter.  Layer 1/2 the cracker mixture at the bottom of a 9x13 pan.   Then pour chicken mixture on top of that.  Top with remaining cracker mixture.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Cornbread and Beans Pie

Nothing beats fried potatoes, beans, and cornbread on a cold winter day, except maybe fried potatoes and Cornbread and Beans Pie.  I found this recipe a few weeks ago and tried it out on the family.  It was a hit.  I made it again today and changed it up a bit.  Here my version of it. 

Now as I said in my first post, I will not be a short order cook.  I do not see how this will benefit my kids , but that being said I also will not set them up for failure either.  My philosophy is to give them at least one or two things in the meal I know they like and will eat.  Also I will not give them things that are too spicy as the girls seem to be very sensitive, tummy-wise.  I will give you the actual recipe but I am also going to tell you how I cooked this for my family. 

I buy my meat in bulk, bring it home, and split it up myself into 3/4 lb baggies.  On almost all recipes I use 3/4 lb instead of the typical 1 lb that it calls for, to stretch the dollar just a bit.  I will usually add more beans, veggies, or rice to fill up the meal in place of the meat I skip. 

I started off browning 3/4 lb of ground beef in a skillet.  Then I added an envelope of mild taco seasoning, 1 cup of canned corn (drained), half of a can of pinto beans (drained and rinsed), (I put the remaining pinto beans and canned corn aside for the girls dinner), and a can of sweet onion ranch style beans.

Transfer the bean and meat mix from the skillet to a 9.5-10in pie pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  Top with 1 cup of cheese.  In a separate bowl mix I cornbread mix, 1/2 cup of milk, I know the box says 1/3 cup just trust me on this one, and one egg.  Mix well then pour over your layer of cheese.

Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until cornbread is golden.  Now I have not forgot about the extra beans and corn we set aside for the babies.  Here's what I did with it.  I placed a scoop of the finished pie in the bowl and mixed it all up.  So, they still ate the same thing we did but it was a bit milder for their little tummies.



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Cornbread and Beans Pie

Adapted from www.mommyhatescooking.com

Time: 30 minutes total (15 minutes cook time)    Serves: 6-8

3/4 lb ground beef

1 can ranch style beans

1/2 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed (optional)

1 cup canned or frozen corn, drained

1 envelope taco seasoning

1 cup of shredded cheese

1 box Jiffy cornbread mix

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1.  Brown 3/4 lb of ground beef in a skillet. 

2.  Add  taco seasoning, corn, and beans to skillet. 

3.  Heat mixture then transfer to a 9.5-10 inch pie pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. 

4.  Top mixture with 1 cup of shredded cheese. 

5.  In a separate bowl mix cornbread mix, milk, and egg.  Pour over cheese layer. 

6.  Bake at 375 degree for 15-20 minutes or until cornbread is golden brown.