I <3 Pasta!

I'm seriously in love with pasta. The only thing that comes close is mexican food. I've had been seeing a lot of blogs with baked ziti in them. So I thought I'd give it a shot. Looked simple enough. I found this recipe again on all recipes. I did decrease some of the amounts only because this makes a ton for only two people. We still had left overs and it was just as good the next day.

Baked Ziti

1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta
15 ounces ricotta cheese
1 package pre shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and rinse.

In a medium bowl, mix ziti, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg and 1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce.


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish and spoon in ziti mixture. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce, followed by Parmesan cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes; let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Meatball Subs

I had a hankerin for meatball subs one night. So I went on a search for a meatball recipe. I found this one on all recipes. Very simple and was delicious.

Meatball Subs

1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup bread crumbs
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 French baguette
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pinch salt, or to taste
1 (14 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
4 slices provolone cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a medium bowl, gently mix by hand the ground beef, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic, parsley, Parmesan cheese, and egg. Shape into 12 meatballs, and place in a baking dish.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cooked through. Meanwhile, cut the baguette in half lengthwise, and remove some of the bread from the inside to make a well for the meatballs. Brush with olive oil, and season with garlic powder and salt. Slip the baguette into the oven during the last 5 minutes of the meatball's time, or until lightly toasted.

While the bread toasts, warm the spaghetti sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. When the meatballs are done, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the sauce. Spoon onto the baguette and top with slices of provolone cheese. Return to the oven for 2 to 3 minutes to melt the cheese. Cool slightly, cut into servings, and enjoy!

Mexican Chili

I believe I found this recipe on another food blog but I can't remember which one. So please let me know if this is yours and I'll make sure you get the credit.

This was super yummy and really easy too. I cooked it on the stove top but it could easily be a dish cooked in a crock pot through out the day.

Mexican Chili

1lb ground beef
1 onion chopped
1 can chili beans
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can corn, drained
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 pkg. ranch dressing mix

Sautee onion in a little oil.
Add meat, brown, and drain.
Add all other ingredients and cook on Med to Med-Hi for about 30-minutes.
Serve with a little sour cream and cheese (optional).

New Year's Snacks

I decided that I didn't want to cook a meal on New Years Eve. So I opted to do a whole bunch of snackie foods. I had been craving stuffed mushrooms and had never made them before. I found this simple enough recipe to point me in the right direction. They're definitely not low calorie but I'm sure if i substituted a few things, I could make them that way. I give these two thumbs up.

Stuffed Mushrooms

24 large fresh mushrooms, stems removed
1 (6 ounce) package chicken flavored dry stuffing mix
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter (plus what you need for the stuffing)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
crushed red pepper to taste
parmigiana cheese

Arrange mushroom caps on a medium baking sheet, bottoms up. Chop and reserve mushroom stems.
Prepare chicken flavored dry stuffing mix according to package directions.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Mix in garlic and mushroom stems. cook until tender.
In a medium bowl, mix together butter mixture, prepared dry stuffing mix, and cream cheese. Liberally stuff mushrooms with the mixture. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper.
Bake uncovered in the preheated oven 10 to 12 minutes, or until stuffing is lightly browned.

Chinese Take Out (At Home)

I love Chinese food but it's so high in calories and sodium. I found both these recipes in the LA Weightloss cook book. I no longer am on that program but the recipes are still great for the new lifestyle I'm working now. The chicken turned out awesome. My rice needs a little bit of work only because I've never cooked fried rice before. It was still yummy though.

Sweet n Sour Chicken

2 6oz boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp cornstarch
3/4 cup fresh pineapple (i used canned)
4 tbsp brown sugar artificial sweetener (i used regular brown sugar)
4 tbsp ketchup
1 tomato, diced
1 cup low sodium chicken broth

Cut chicken in stripes or pieces
Coat pan with nonfat cooking spray. Add onion, and green pepper. Stir fry until crisp-tender. Remove an set aside.
Coat pan again with cooking spray. Cook chicken until brown.
Mix vinegar, cornstarch, broth, sugar, and ketchup together.
Add sauce to pan with chicken. Cook stirring constantly until sauce thickens.
Return onion and green pepper to pan. Stir in pineapple chunks and tomato. Cook till heated through.


Fried Rice

1/2 chopped green pepper
4 chopped green onions
1/2 chopped carrot
dash of garlic powder
dash of onion powder
1/2 tsp ginger
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 egg white scrambled

Spray pan with cooking spray. Stir fry veggies until crisp-tender
Season veggies with garlic powder, onion powder, ginger, soy sauce, and salt
Add rice and egg white. Toss to combine and to heat through.

Cooking Lighter

I've recently decided that it's time to start eating better and to lose a little bit of weight. I'm not doing it as a "resolution" for the year. I'm doing it because I want to look and feel better. So besides hiring a personal trainer, I'm working on not eating out so much and cooking lighter meals. I got this recipe out of a cookbook I bought when I was doing LA Weightloss. It's also my first time doing a stuffed chicken breast. It turned out pretty good. I think next time I might marinate the chicken in something before stuffing. Just to give it a little more flavor.

Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Chicken

2 6oz Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1/4 cup frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained well
2 tbsp. chopped red pepper
4 garlic gloves minced
1 oz reduced fat cheddar cheese (i used more than this)
salt &pepper
nonfat cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375.
Pound chicken until 1/4 inch think
Combine broccoli, red pepper, cheddar and half the garlic. Mix well
Place chicken on piece of foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Place broccoli mixture in the middle of chicken and roll up.
Top chicken with remaining clove of minced garlic.
Roll chicken in foil.
Bake chicken for 20 minutes.
Cut a slit in the top of the foil packet and place back in oven for 5 minutes to brown top of chicken and garlic.

Puppy Chow

What can I say about this snack? I haven't made this since I was a Camp Fire girl and hadn't heard of it for just about as long. That is until this last Christmas. I had planned on making some to take as gifts for the girls at work but I just didn't have the time. So I made it for my husband to take to his work on Christmas Eve. He said everyone loved it and he couldn't stop eating it either. This is a quick, easy snack and keeps very well in an air tight container.

Puppy Chow

9 cups rice Chex cereal
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Pour cereal into large bowl

Melt peanut butter and chocolate chips over low heat. Mix till smooth.

Add peanut butter/ chocolate mixture to cereal. Stir until cereal is well coated.

Pour powdered sugar and coated cereal into a plastic bag. Shake well until cereal is coated with sugar. Store in air tight container.

Quick Easy Dinner

With my husband working mostly closing shifts, sometimes I just don't feel like cooking a big meal. So this particular night, I decided to go for the classic club sandwich. It was quick, easy, and very tasty.

Classic Club Sandwich

3 pieces sourdough bread
Bacon
Turkey
Cheddar Cheese
Lettuce
Tomato
Mayo

Toast all 3 pieces of bread. Spread with mayo. Assemble using the third piece of bread in the middle to separate the meat from the veggies.

Yummy Cupcakes

My grandma used to make these really yummy chocolate cupcakes with a cheesecake type filling. I thought about these one day and decided I wanted to give them try myself. I did a search on all recipes to see what I could come up with. This seemed pretty close to what I could remember my Grandma making except she didn't put chocolate chips in the filling. But what isn't better with a little more chocolate.


Self Filled Cupcakes
courtesy allrecipes.com

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), or to the temperature recommended on the cake mix package.

Prepare chocolate cake mix according to package directions, but do not bake. In separate bowl cream together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg until well blended, then stir in chocolate chips.

Line cupcake tins with cupcake papers. Fill 2/3 full with chocolate cake batter. Add 1 teaspoon cream cheese mixture to the center, and top with more cake batter.

Bake according to package directions for cupcakes. Cool and frost with chocolate or cream cheese frosting. (After taste testing one, I decided that they would be just too sweet if I frosted them. So I didn't)