Baked Ziti (aka Rosemary Ziti)

The boyfriend found this recipe about three years ago and it's now our default baked ziti recipe.  We love the touch of rosemary in the dish.

1 pound dry ziti pasta
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork sausage
1 1/2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
salt to taste
1 (6 ounce) package provolone cheese, sliced
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup cottage cheese
1 (6 ounce) package mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese


1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Cook onion in oil until tender. Stir in rosemary and garlic. Transfer to a small bowl.
3. Place ground beef and sausage in the skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Stir in the onion mixture and the spaghetti sauce. Season with salt. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. In the prepared dish, layer 1/2 of the cooked pasta, provolone cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, and a little less than 1/2 of the meat mixture. Then layer the rest of the pasta, mozzarella cheese, remaining meat mixture, and Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until heated through and cheeses are melted.

Microwave Fruit Crisp (Apple Crisp for One)

Another Taste of Home recipe from one of their annual cookbooks, as well as another single serving recipe.  Fair warning, an apple a day, in this fashion, is probably not advisable.  I'm pretty sure, since it was so many years ago that I made it (and hence no picture) that I used the oven directions.  But I have microwaved fruit crisp in the past and it's still decent.

Ingredients
1 medium pear or apple, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons quick-cooking oats
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cold butter

Directions
Place fruit in a small microwave-safe bowl. In another bowl, combine
the dry ingredients; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over
fruit. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 1-1/2 minutes or until
fruit is tender. Yield: 1 serving.
Note: It can also be baked at 375° for 25-30 minutes.

Mac 'n' Cheese For One

I found this recipe years ago in the Taste of Home annual cookbook.  I think it was the first time I made macaroni and cheese that wasn't from a box.  I wasn't as sure about the mustard and these days I probably wouldn't bother chopping a whole onion for the half teaspoon needed for the recipe unless I was planning something else.  I would guess that dried minced onion would work just fine (generally about 1 teaspoon of dried herbs equals about 1 Tablespoon of fresh).  I love finding recipes that make single serving amounts and figured others might enjoy seeing them as well (no picture as I haven't made it recently).

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch pepper
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup diced cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon chopped onion
3 tablespoons elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
2 saltines, crushed

Directions
In a saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter; stir in flour, salt and
pepper. Whisk in milk until smooth. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.
Reduce heat to low. Add the cheese, mustard, Worcestershire sauce
and onion; stir until cheese is melted. Add macaroni. Transfer to a
greased 1-cup baking dish. Sprinkle with saltines; dot with
remaining butter. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 15 minutes or
until heated through. Yield: 1 serving.

Biscuit Nugget Chicken Bake

This recipe came from a casserole cookbook from Taste of Home (I've mentioned it previously on this blog - this particular one was *filled* with lots of great recipes).  It's easy to throw together, and definitely a comfort food dish on a cold night.  Similar to a chicken and biscuit recipe, it's different with the extra seasonings and cheese on the biscuits.  Oh, and I used a bigger package of biscuits than it called for because I wasn't paying attention, but it still came out wonderful.

Ingredients
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 cup milk
1 jar (4-1/2 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1/2 teaspoon paprika
TOPPING:
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 tube (12 ounces) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

Directions
In a large saucepan, combine the first six ingredients. Cook and stir
over medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until heated through; keep warm.
In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the cheese, onion, parsley
and paprika. Separate biscuits and cut into quarters; add to bag and
shake to coat. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400°
for 5 minutes.
Transfer chicken mixture to a greased 8-in.-square baking dish; top
with biscuits. Bake, uncovered, for 10-13 minutes or until bubbly
and biscuits are golden brown. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Sticky Buns

These JUST came out of the oven.  And they are DIVINE.

All of the woman's clubs around here are known for their sticky buns.  Chris loves them.  So when I was making dinner rolls the other day, I started flipping through Gold Medal's Best Bread Machine Recipes cookbook for other ideas.

The dough for this is very similar to the dinner rolls.  But the finishing process is much different.

This recipe takes a lot of time, but not active time.  There is a lot of waiting for rising.  Since I'm not a morning person, this will never be breakfast for us fresh out of the oven!

I put the ingredients in the order that my bread machine wants them.  Make sure yours is the same.

Sticky Rolls (I call them Sticky Buns)

1 cup water
1 egg
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp yeast

Caramel Topping
nuts (if desired)
2 Tbsp butter or margarine, softened
Cinnamon Filling

Measure carefully, placing all ingredients except last three, in bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer.

Select Dough/Manual cycle.  Do not use Delay cycle.

Remove dough from pan, using lightly floured hands.  Cover and let rest 10 minutes on lightly floured surface.  Make Caramel Topping.

Roll or pat dough into a 15 x 10 inch rectangle.  Spread 2 Tbsp butter or margarine over dough.  Make Cinnamon Filling.  Sprinkle over butter or margarine.  Roll dough up tightly, beginning at 15 inch side.  Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal.  Stretch and shape roll to make even.  Cut into 15 1 inch slices.  Place slightly apart in pan.  Cover and let rise in warm place about 1 hour or until double.  (Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.)

Heat oven to 350.  Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.  Immediately place heatproof platter or tray upside down onto pan.  Turn platter and pan over.  Leave pan over rolls 1 minute.  Remove pan.  Serve rolls warm or let stand until cool.

Caramel Topping

1/2 cup margarine or butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup dark corn syrup

Place melted butter in ungreased rectangular 13 x 9 pan that is 2 inches deep.  Stir in brown sugar and corn syrup until well blended.  Spread evenly in pan.  Sprinkle with nuts, if desired.

Cinnamon Filling

2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Mix all ingredients.

Dinner Rolls

I love my bread machine.  And yet, I haven't used since we moved into our house three years ago!  I finally got it out again and made these delicious dinner rolls the other night for dinner.

The recipe comes from Gold Medal's Best Bread Machine Recipes cookbook.  I bought it at least 10 years ago.  I rearranged the ingredients in the order my bread machine suggests.  Check yours to be sure it's the same.

In my machine, the total prep time for this recipe is 2 hours and 10 minutes, so I have to plan accordingly in advance!

Dinner Rolls

1 cup water
1 egg
2 Tbsp butter or margarine, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
3 1/4 cups flour
3 tsp yeast

Measure carefully, placing all ingredients in bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer.

Select Dough/Manual cycle.  Do not use Delay cycle. (My bread machine takes 1 hour and 20 minutes to do this)

Remove dough from pan, using lightly floured hands.  Cover and let rest 10 minutes on lightly floured surface.

Grease large cookie sheet.  Divide dough into 15 equal pieces.  Shape each piece into a ball.  Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.  Cover and let rise in a warm place 30-40 minutes or until double.  (Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.)

Heat oven to 375. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Brush tops with melted butter if desired.  Serve warm, or cool on a wire rack.

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

I pin a lot of recipes.  But for some reason, I never think to check my Pinterest boards when I'm planning my week's menu.  Last weekend, I did.  And I discovered I had pinned this GEM of a recipe!

It was absolutely fabulous!  And so very easy.  I love a casserole that calls for raw chicken so I don't have to take the time to cook it first.

I used garlic cheese croutons, but any flavor would be delicious.  I didn't have fresh basil, so I used dried.  I might use garlic powder next time. It's hard to "sprinkle" minced garlic.  I skipped the red pepper flakes and used black pepper instead.

The only thing I had to change was I had to cover it about half way through because the top was getting pretty brown.  I was worried to bake it for 20 more minutes without covering the top.  Next time I will cover it first for 20 minutes, then uncover it for the rest of the baking time.

Here is the original link, in case you're interested.  It comes from emilybites.com.

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

2 lbs raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup fresh basil, finely chopped
2 cups marinara/pasta sauce
1 ½ cups 2% reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
2 oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, divided
3.5 oz garlic croutons, roughly crushed, leaving some larger pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Spread the cubed pieces of chicken across the bottom of the baking dish in a single layer. Sprinkle the minced garlic, red pepper flakes and basil evenly over the chicken. Spread the sauce evenly across the top.

On top of the sauce layer, sprinkle ¾ cup of the Mozzarella and one ounce of the Parmesan evenly across the dish. Sprinkle the crushed croutons across the top and follow with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 40-45 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.