Baked Ziti

[Printable Recipe]

Yummy ziti and burnt texas toast


I am taking a friend of mine who just had a baby dinner tomorrow after work, so I decided to make dinner for my family too. I knew I wouldn't feel like making this tomorrow, then driving to PA after work, so I decided to make it tonight. There are a million versions of Baked Ziti out there. Mine is pretty simple, and unfortunately for you (or fortunately) not exact. I tried to measure things, but I just couldn't do it. Sorry.

What you need:

Everything you need


1 lb box ziti

15 oz ricotta cheese

1lb 10 oz spaghetti sauce

2 cup Italian blend cheese shredded

1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded

2 1/2 tbsp Parmesan cheese (not exact measurement but close estimate)

garlic salt to taste

oregano to taste

pepper to taste

1/2 cup hot pasta water

Directions:

Preheat oven 350

boil ziti until tender (I add a little salt to the water)

Drain. (make sure you keep 1/2 cup of pasta water)

In a large bowl, mix sauce, seasonings, ricotta, Parmesan cheese and hot water.

Sauce and seasonings


Add ziti and mix.

Add 1 cup of Italian blend cheese and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Mix well.

Pour into pan.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese

Over with the rest of the remaining shredded cheese (1 cup Italian blend and 1/2 cup mozzarella)
ziti before baking


Cover with foil and bake for 40 mins, last 5 mins take foil off and let cheese brown a little. I used the broiler to get it done faster. (Austin was HUNGRY)

YUM!!!


I made my family's first, and then made my friend's. I had 20 mins left on the timer when I put their dish in the refrigerator. It really isn't hard work at all!!!

You can make this ahead up to 2 days if kept in fridge, 2 months if frozen. Take out of fridge and cook (may need extra couple mins.)If cooking from the freezer, let it thaw first.

The best thing about this meal is you can change it however you wish. I like mine cheesy, but you don't have to have that much cheese, you can use different types of cheese, I have seen many that call for provolone. Dad said that he wouldn't mind meat in it, I personally don't like meat in my ziti. You could add veggies to it. The possibilities are endless.

If you make this for your family, let me know what variation you use!

The only reason to go to Red Lobster

[Printable Recipe]

Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits


I don't eat seafood, not even shrimp or crabs (GASP I KNOW?! The only excuse I can give is that the 9 years I spent not in Maryland did not foster the love of crabs that all other Marylanders have). My family on the other hand eats the stuff. Yuck. My best friend and her family enjoy it, and have a personal discount when they go to Red Lobster. So I have been to RL more times than I can count. I order my chicken fingers with a little hint of embarrassment, then remember that I order these 6 out of 10 times at other places and move on to the reason I agree to set foot through the door in the first place. The biscuits. They are cheesy, and garlicky and HORRIBLE for you. The worst part is, that you know this, and you still can't keep yourself from having a 2nd or 3rd(shutter) I have found a recipe that claims to be the same as the RL one. So I decided to try it out, adapting it a little to fit my taste (which is quite simple and plain... seriously, PB no J, waffle no syrup...)

I am not in the mood to make biscuit dough from scratch. It is Friday, I averaged only 4-5 hours of sleep every night this week, I just want a quick dinner and a movie to fall asleep to. Sorry boyfriend. Bisquick it is!

2 Cups of Bisquick

1/2 cups COLD water

3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I am using mild because bf and I aren't big fans of sharp)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dried parsley ( using Italian seasoning because it is all we have and we don't need extra spices right now)

1/4 cup butter

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

Heat oven 450. Combine Bisquick, water and cheese in bowl.(I added a little garlic and seasons, just a little)

The Dough

Roll out on lightly floured surface 1 inch thick. Cut biscuits and place on ungreased pan. (I was lazy, I skipped this step and just dropped clumps on and flattened, I also used a little pam on the cookie sheet).

My drop biscuits



Melt butter and spices (I only used 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning, and no parsley)and brush on the biscuits. Bake 8-10 mins. (This was more like 11 mins 30 seconds, but this could be because I took the chicken out of the oven at 350 and put the biscuits in and then turned it up to 450).

This was my 2nd


You could make this healthier for you by using fat free cheese and using the butter sparingly. My cheese however was not fat free. O well.

The Results: They were almost perfect. The seasonings were perfect, they were nice and buttery, the only thing I would do differently is add more cheese, probably up it to 1 cup. Of course I had more than one... Matt had 5 6. I guess he liked them :-D We will definitely be adding this to our rotation, but maybe make it a little bit healthier.

Class 1

I didn't touch any tools. I also didn't know what I was getting myself into. Next week I have to go to class with 2 cakes baked and 4 batches of icing made. I also need a lot of tools. The "steal" $22.50 class just got a lot more expensive. However, I enjoy doing this, and I could see myself selling cakes one day. So, with the help of a 50% off coupon, I am buying the kit and diving into this. I am really excited, and excited about all the things I am going to learn, I just hope I can use it, and I hope that I didn't take on too much, with my FCC class too. I honestly don't know what I was thinking I was going to be decorating, I guess I thought we would be decorating Styrofoam cakes, or ones they made, haha I really have no clue. But I can't wait. Course 1 in March, course 2, which is fancy flowers and boarders in April, and course 3 sometime after, course 3 is wedding cakes and fondant, 2 things I am less interested in. One thing is for sure, presents for me will be easy in the near future, there are plenty of things at Michael's I want to decorate with. :-D I will have pictures after next weeks class.

Cake decorating class

I am very excited about my new class. Every Monday for the next 4 weeks I will be learning how to decorate cakes.  Soon I will be pro, or something. I will post pictures if the things don't suck. Check back for updates on the class. :-D

Pink Velvet Cupcakes

I have this dream of a wedding cake* that is pink on the inside...but I want a red velvet cake. So I decided to see if it is possible to use pink food coloring instead and get my pink cake. Attempt #1 I used pink gel coloring. The cupcakes are a rose color, pretty but not exactly what I was looking for. Maybe next time I will get neon food coloring drops and try that.

* No I am not engaged... I am just a girl and I think about these things.

Pink Velvet Cake


The recipe is as follows

Makes 12 cupcakes

1 - 1/2 cups cake flour (sifted)

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder ( i used a little more than 2 tbsp)

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp vinegar

PINK gel food coloring (I used the back of a spoon and put in a glob - added more til i got a pink color see picture)


3/4 cup sugar

4 tbsp butter

1 egg, room temp

Preheat oven to 350 and put liners in the cupcake pan

Sift the cake flour first, then sift together the cake flour, baking powder, cocoa and salt into a bowl (not your mixing bowl)

In another bowl whisk together buttermilk, vanilla and food coloring then put aside.

In the mixer bowl beat sugar and butter until fluffy, about 2 mins on med/high. Add the egg. Once incorporated add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture by alternating.

Fill liners abt 2/3 full. Bake 20-22 mins.

Let cool then frost and decorate.

I used regular butter cream on 6 and the traditional cream cheese icing on the other 6.

The recipe for the cream cheese icing is as follows.

8oz cream cheese, room temp

2 sticks of butter, room temp (1 cup)

1 tsp vanilla extract ( i ran out, only had about 3/4 tsp)

1 lb powdered sugar.

Cream the butter and cream cheese in mixer. Add the vanilla, gradually add powdered sugar. Scrap down the bowl often.

Put into a decorating bag with the star tip (sorry I don't really know technical terms yet :( ) and pipe onto the cupcakes, decorate as you wish.
YUM


Results: The cake was not the color I was hoping for, and a little on the dry side. I am going to try 4tbsp of oil instead of butter (as seen on Throwdown with Bobby Flay, the challenger said that was her secret to moist red velvet cake) but I wanted something to base the change off of. I was disappointed in my first red velvet attempt. The cake was very dense. Maybe it was the cake flour? or the butter? I don't know. I will try again soon and report back. I will figure out the perfect combination.


Butter cream icing was normal and yummy. Very sweet.


Creamcheese icing : Matt's roommate Kevin said "the cream cheese icing was smooth and rich, without being too sweet. i was a big fan."