Baked Ziti

There is nothing fancy about this dish. It's just a basic Baked Ziti, but it is my first time cooking it, so I figured I'd share it with all of you... (all four of you that I know read regularly. LOL)

I got this recipe from All Recipes, one of my most favorite recipe websites. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta
• 24 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 (32 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. 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.
2. In a medium bowl, mix ziti, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg and 1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish and spoon in ziti mixture. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce, followed by Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes; let stand for 15 minutes before serving. 

I had about half the amount of mozzarella cheese so I just added a little more ricotta. I pre-cooked and added some Johnsonsville's chicken sausage to it. 

Overall, it was pretty tasty, although it could have been a little more saucy. I'm sure it's a dish I will do again. It was really heavy so smaller servings are better with a small side salad (although, we didn't do the salad). I just served ours with a piece of garlic toast. 

 

 

The 16 Year Old Me

On the radio on my way into work Wednesday, they were discussing what they would tell their 16 year old selves if given the chance to talk to them today and it got me thinking.

Then I saw this pin on Pinterest:

 

And it dawned on me that I would definitely tell the 16 year old me exactly that and to not be in such a hurry to grow up.

When I was 16, I swore I would never be one of those adults that wished I was 16 again because, lets face it, being 16 was hard... but now that I am an adult, man what I wouldn't do to be 16 again. I was care free, no bills, no responsibilities. It was fantastic.

Sadly, when you are 16 you think you know everything and no matter who says it, you wont believe how great those teenage years are.

Even though I am positive my 16 year old self wouldn't listen to my 33 year old self, here are some things I would tell her:

1. Don't be in such a hurry to grow up and enjoy these years. As difficult as they may seem now, these are valuable lessons you are learning.
2. Listen to the adults. They know what they are talking about and are just trying to prepare you for life ahead. 
3. Learn discipline at a young age... It will help later in life with more things than you know. 
4. Go to college right away. Don't take "time off" after high school because it makes it harder to go back.
5. Love and respect your parents. They just want what's best for you and one day, you will look back and realize that they were right.

For the most part, I don't live my life with regrets and I don't regret my youth. It has made me who I am today. I do think that if I had it to do over again, knowing what I know now, I probably would do some things a little different. Maybe that's the same thing as regret, but for me, I associate regret with resentment or a negative feeling. I don't resent my past decisions... I am at peace with them. That's why I believe I don't live with regret.

It's too bad my 16 year old self was such a know it all. Perhaps if she wasn't, things today would come a little easier.

What would you say to your 16 year old self?

Mexican Casserole

Or Mexican Schlopp. At least that's what it looks like. Or White Person's Mexican Surprise. (You'll understand why in the ingredients.)*

I have also heard it called something like Enchilada Pie (which would probably be the more politically correct name.)

Whatever you want to call it, it is one of my most favorite meals. I don't cook it very often because it's too much for just two people and I am not good about freezing and eating later, so a lot of it tends to go to waste.

Anyway, here's a sneak peak and the recipe:

 

Ingredients

Ground Meat of some sort (I have used ground beef or turkey)

Taco Seasoning (I actually found some Jennie-O already seasoned ground turkey - fancy!)

8-10 Corn Tortillas 

1 can Chili

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup*

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup*

1 small can of Sliced Olives (optional)

1 can of Corn (optional)

1 jar (12 oz.) La Victoria Green Taco Sauce

Desired amount of the shredded cheese of your choice

Sour Cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. 

Brown meat and add taco seasoning according to package.

Cut tortillas into bite size pieces and throw in large mixing bowl. Pour all other ingredients except the cheese and sour cream into the mixing bowl. Stir together.

Put the taco meat on the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking pan and pour the mixture over the meat, spreading evenly.

Sprinkle desired amount of cheese on top.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden to your liking. 

Serve hot... garnish with sour cream and/or hot sauce if you so desire.

Like I said, this is one of my favorite meals. It's not the healthiest of meals, but it sure is tasty. I have spiced it up quite a bit and have considered adding rice to it, but I'm not sure if it would dry it out too much. I have even made this a vegetarian dish. So far, I haven't served it to anyone that didn't like it. 

* I don't know any true Mexican that cooks an authentic Mexican dish with cream of any kind of soup.

Bon Appetite