Baked Ziti

Found this recipe on Kelsey's Kitchen and Jason loved it! I did this sans beef and added a fresh diced tomato for texture instead.

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz. ziti
½ lb. lean ground beef
½ yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 C. tomato sauce
½ tsp. dried Oregano
½ tsp. dried Basil
1 C. shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the ziti and cook for about 8 minutes. The ziti should be slightly undercooked and chewy. Drain; set aside.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the beef with onion and garlic. Stir in the tomato sauce, herbs, and salt.
4. Mix the ziti with the sauce and cheese in an ovenproof dish, saving some cheese to sprinkle on top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Homemade Pasta Sauce & Meatballs

The meatballs are my adaptation of my great-grandma Bellino's recipe. The tomato sauce is my wayof cutting down on sugar (have you seen how much is in the jars?!)

Meatballs

1 lb ground beef
1 egg
2 slices bread, wet and squeezed
3-4 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup parmesean
1 tbsp parsley

Combine all ingredients. Roll into balls. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Sauce

1 10 oz can petite diced tomatoes
1 small carrot, thinly sliced
1/2 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 tsp each salt, parsley and basil

Pour tomatoes into saute pan and add all other ingreidents. Simmer over medium heat for about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, make pasta according to box instructions. Add cooked pasta to sauce in saute pan and toss (this makes the pasta a lot more flavorful). Add meatballs and toss. Serve with more parmesean.

Balsamic Vinegar Steak Marinade

Jason and I made this for my family yesterday. It was a hit. Keep in mind the cooking time may be less than you are used to as the vinegar starts to cook the steaks as they marinate.

4 New York Strip steaks (or any other tender cut)
3/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped

Combine the balsamic vinegar, olive oil and garlic in a shallow dish. Gently place steaks inside the dish, making sure the marinade covers the steaks. Cover dish and place in fridge, let steak marinate for two to six hours.

When appropriate marinating time is over, take the steaks out of the marinade and set aside. Place marinade inside a small sauce pan and reduce until it forms a thick glaze. Fire up the grill and cook steaks to desired doneness, glazing each steak with the marinade reduction on each turn.

Enjoy.

Spinach Chicken Rolls

I was playing around in the kitchen and thought this would make a great combination. It definitely did! This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients:
Two chicken breasts, thawed
2 cups of fresh spinach
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup parmesean cheese
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2-1 cup Italian breadcrumbs

1. Pound chicken with a meat tenderizer until very thin

2. Melt 1 tbsp butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add spinach. Stir until spinach starts to wilt. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder and stire. Add cheeses and stir until they have just started to melt. Remove from heat.

3. Put half of spinach mixture at one end of chicken breast. Roll around spinach center. Repeat with the rest of the spinach and chicken.

4. Melt remaining butter and brush over chicken rolls with a pastry brush. Roll chicken in breadcrumbs.

5. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is done.

I served it with fresh green beans, and angel hair with olive oil, diced tomatoes and basil.

Bon apetite!

Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup real butter
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together

Add:
3 cups flour
1 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I usually just add the whole bag)
1 1/2 cup nuts (optional)
1 cup coconut (optional)

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes

Salmon

I have been playing around with ways to make salmon. As S has requested we eat salmon twice a week, here are a few of my findings.

Option one:

2 salmon steaks

Put about 2 cups water, 1 tbsp white vinegar, and salt. Bring to a boil and cook fish until salmon flakes with fork. About 8-10 minutes. ( I also add a little lemon juice)

Option two:

1/2 cup melted butter
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dill weed
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Mix all of the above and pour over salmon. Bake at 350 for juices til juices run clear. (I usually do 2 salmon fillets ( I buy the costco frozen pre-cut stuff) and it usually takes about 13 minutes when thawed)

Dipping Sauce:

1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayo
1 Tbsp parsley
1 Tbsp bon apetite
1 Tbsp dill weed
2 Tbsp chopped onion

chill before serving.

Creamy Cheesy Chicken!!

This is similer to Macie's Alfredo Crock Pot chicken but I have 2 different ways of doing it.

1. Cook 4 chicken breasts with good seasons italian dressing packet and 1/4 cup water. Cook for 3-4 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low. (See second option before cooking fully)

First option: When chicken is cooked, shred chicken and mix in 1 package cream cheese. Serve over mashed potatoes.

Second option: When chicken has cooked for about an hour in the crock pot, cut chicken in half lengthwise and mix 1 package of cream cheese (will probably need to put in the microwave to soften) and 1 can cream of chicken soup together. Pour over chicken. Let cook remaining hours until chicken is cooked through. Serve over rice. ( I also half the chicken in this recipe but I don't half the cream of chicken or the cream cheese...we like extra sauce)

S loves both of these and they are quick and yummy!