Baked Ziti & Sausage

Today, I just want to talk about how helpful it can be to look on the labels of the foods you buy for delicious (and easy!) recipes.

This recipe for baked ziti comes right off of the box of Prince pasta, but it's really simple to make and tastes delicious.  It's also pretty basic, so if I want to add more or less stuff, I can easily do that without messing up the whole thing.

This time around, I added a couple of diced tomatoes, but in the past I've also added some diced up onions.  I think it would be really good with some peppers, too, and you can easily swap out the pork sausage for hamburger or turkey or chicken sausage if you want something a little healthier.  I just thought of this now, but with some cut up breaded chicken, this would taste just like chicken parm.  Mmmmmm.

It's so good, in fact, that it's become one of our "go to" dinners.  We have it probably about once a month, and it makes enough for my lunch the next day plus dinner for the following day (or sometimes two days, depending on how much we eat to start with).  The pasta and cheesy goodness is a little heavy for this time of year, but it's perfect during the fall and winter months when you want a warm, satisfying meal, but also don't want to spend all day in the kitchen.

I normally don't pay attention to the recipes that are on the labels of foods that we buy, but every once in awhile, they have a really good one that either seems to be worth trying or that sparks an idea to try something else.  What's your favorite recipe like this?

Cheese Me!

There's a lot happening in this post.  First of all, happy mother's day to all you mommies out there!  I can't speak for all of them, but my mom rocks!  (HI MOMMY!)

Also, I got engaged yesterday! It's really bizarre and unreal.  Everyone keeps asking if we're serious and I have to be honest, I sorta feel like I'm being punked, but I'm just gonna go with it.  I'll post more later, promise.

Now, on to the post:

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It's very possible that I have an unhealthy obsession with cheese.  Whenever I make anything that requires shredded cheese, I end up eating at least one giant handful, sometimes more.  If I make a cheese and cracker platter, I will most likely eat as much cheese as I put out for everyone else to enjoy.  At said parties where I'm the guest and there's cheese, I'll be "full" and "can't eat any more" as I put another slice of cheese into my mouth.  I've been known to request a sample slice of cheese from the deli on more than one occasion (you know, that sample slice that they usually give to your little kid in the carriage).

So, when the opportunity presented itself to make homemade macaroni and cheese, you know I had to jump at the chance.

This is actually the second time I've made this recipe.  The first time, Joe took one bite, made a funny a face and asked me what I made for dinner.  If you're thinking to yourself, "he didn't even recognize it as macaroni and cheese?" then you would be correct.  Thankfully, that time I was smart and set aside some plain pasta for him.  When I asked him about it afterwards, he said that he's pretty much only had Kraft and the few times where homemade was the only option, he wasn't really that impressed.

This time around, I made some for myself and enjoyed a few days of a delicious, cheesy lunch.  More for me? No complaints!  

YUM!

Macaroni and Cheese
To print this recipe, click here

Ingredients
Approx. half box (16 oz size) medium size shells or pasta of your choice
2 Tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
1 cup of shredded cheese (my grocery store had a "mac and cheese" blend that I bought - Cheddar, Swiss and American)
Salt and black pepper to taste
Handful of grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and place in a single layer in a greased 9" x 13" casserole dish.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic and cook about 30 seconds. Mix in flour until mixture is thick and clumpy, then whisk in milk. Continue to whisk mixture and cook until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Add cheese by small handfuls, stirring until melted completely before adding the next handful. Salt and pepper to taste.

Pour sauce over pasta and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake until cheese is golden, about 20 minutes.