I love pasta and this is one of the best pastas I have ever made. It is full of cheesy deliciousness. It's always a special night when we have this for dinner. I found this Baked Ziti recipe on Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I halved her recipe and it still makes enough to serve 4-6 people, so we get to enjoy the leftovers for a day or two!

The list of ingredients is long, but don't let it intimidate you. This recipe really isn't that tough, and it is well worth any effort!

Here is what you need:

1/2 lb Cottage Cheese
1 Egg
1 C Parmesan
1/5 lb Ziti or Penne Pasta
1 T Olive Oil
3 t Garlic, minced
1 Can Tomatoe Sauce (8 oz.)
1 Can Diced Tomatoes (14.5 oz.)
1/2 t Dried Oregano
1/2 t Dried Basil
1/2 t Sugar
1/2 C Whole Milk
1 t Cornstarch
4 oz Mozzarella, shredded

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. After draining the pasta save empty pot to use for step 3. Mix together cottage cheese, egg and 3/4 C Parmesan in a small bowl and set aside.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add garlic and heat about 2 minutes. Add in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, oregano, basil and sugar. Bring to a simmer and simmer for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally.

3. In the same pot you used to cook the pasta, stir milk and cornstarch together. Simmer until thickened, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and add in the cottage cheese mixture and 1/2 C of the tomato sauce. Stir in 3 ounces of the mozzarella cheese.Add the pasta and stir until it is completely coated.

4. Pour pasta and sauce into a 2 quart baking dish. Spread the rest of the tomato sauce on top and top with the remaining cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the foil and bake another 30 minutes.

Time to enjoy some delicious pasta!

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I learned the importance of menu planning from my mom. I used to plan my menus for two weeks at a time, but now that I stay at home a trip to the grocery store can give me an excuse to get out. So now I plan a week at a time. I usually plan about 5-6 meals per week, and save a day or two for leftovers, eating out or being invited somewhere for dinner. Here is a sample of a week menu, in fact this is what we had last week.

Plov- Russian Chicken and Rice



Pork Schnitzel with Mushroom Gravy


Garlic Steak and Onions




Baked Chicken Taquitos and Mexican Rice



Breakfast Burritos- Sorry, no recipe to go with this. Just scrambled eggs, bacon, potatoes, avocado, tomato, cheese and lots of green salsa. Sometimes you just need breakfast for dinner.

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This is another very simple recipe that tastes amazing! It is so good. I cannot stress that enough. This is one of Husband's favorite recipes. There is just so much flavor when you combine the steak and the onions and the dressing. I wish we hadn't already eaten all of it, because I could really go for some right now.

Here is what you need:

1 lb. Boneless Beef Sirloin Steak
1/2 t Black Pepper
1 Large Red Onion, Cut into Strips
2 t Minced Garlic
1/2 C Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing
Parmesan Cheese (The canned stuff)
1 1/2 C Rice, cooked according to package directions

1. Cut the steak into strips. Pour a little oil in a skillet and cook steak over medium heat. Sprinkle the steak with the pepper. Cook until the steak is cooked through, remove it from the pan and cover with foil. Leave the drippings.

2. Add onions and garlic to the skillet. Stir in the dressing. Cover and cook about 5 minutes. Uncover, stir and cook another 5 minutes until the onions are tender.

3. Add the steak back into the pan and mix it into the onions and sauce.

4. Serve over rice. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top, and enjoy!

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I lived in Germany and Austria for about a year and a half and I came to really love most of their food. I never became a huge fan of sauerkraut and don't even get me started on spaetzle, but I do love schnitzel. This schnitzel is not exactly like what we ate there, we never had it with gravy, but some friends made this for us a few years ago and it was so good that I had to have the recipe.

Here is what you need:

4-6 boneless pork chops
2 Eggs
1 t Paprika
1 C Flour
2 Lemons, zested
2 C Bread Crumbs
2 t Salt
1 t Pepper
6 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 T Butter
1 Chicken Bouillion Cube
1 C Fresh Mushrooms, sliced
2 C Hot Water
1 Pkg. Pork Gravy Mix
2 T Sour Cream

1. Tenderize pork chops with a meat mallet (I just barely got one. I was so excited to finally be able to do this step.) I covered my pork chops with plastic wrap to prevent splatter. Lightly beat eggs in a small bowl. Mix flour and paprika in another bowl. Mix lemon zest and bread crumbs in another bowl. Save the lemons to squeeze over schnitzel at the end.

2. Heat 3T oil and 1T butter in a skillet. Bread the pork chops by first coating them in the flour mixture, then in the eggs and then in the bread crumbs mixture. Place 3-4 pork chops into the skillet and cook on each side until cooked all the way through. The biggest challenge is being patient and keeping the heat medium to medium low so the meat cooks all the way through before the outside is completely burned. Remove schnitzel from the pan and cover. Repeat for any other pork chops, adding in oil and butter again.

3. In the empty pan, add 1 T of butter, bouillion cube and sliced mushrooms. Break down the cube and cook until mushrooms are tender. Add hot water and gravy mix. Whisk together and cook over medium heat until it starts to boil. Remove from heat and add in sour cream.

Serve schnitzel with mushroom gravy on top. I like to serve it with roasted red potatoes. You can tell this is a picture of husbands plate because if it were mine there would be a large puddle of gravy over the entire plate. Squeeze lemon juice over top, it adds a really nice flavor. Enjoy!

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I love these chicken shish kabobs, My parents started making them somewhat frequently before I left home, and they were always gone in a hurry. They are so incredibly simple to put together and so delicious in the end. These pictures really don't do it justice so you'll just have to trust me and try it.

Here is what you need:
1 1/2 lb Chicken Breast
1/2 lb Bacon
1 Green Pepper
1 Small Red Onion
1 Pkg. Mushrooms
Italian Dressing
Rice

1. If using frozen chicken thaw it. Cut into large bite sized pieces, not too small or they won't go on the skewer well. Place pieces in a shallow bowl or resealable gallon sized bag and cover with Italian dressing. Let the chicken marinade for at least 2 hours.

 

2. After the chicken has marinaded, cut the bacon into squares, and skewer the bacon and chicken. I like to do the vegetables separately because I don't like the thought of the raw meat touching my veggies, but my parents always put them all together. It's up to you.

3. Cut the vegetables. Again, keep the chunks large enough that they can fit onto the skewer. Skewer the vegetables.

4. Now I pass them off to Husband for grilling. Grill until the meat is cooked all the way through and vegetables are tender. Be sure to check between the pieces of meat to make sure it's cooked.

5. Serve over rice. We like to pull everything off the skewers and mix it all together in a bowl, but you could just pass around the skewers. I like to top it all off with some soy sauce.

And that's all there is to it.

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I have developed a great love of lasagna. It is so delicious and so versatile. For regular quick weeknight meals I make a very simple lasagna for my family, but when we have company I like to fancy it up a bit. I got this delicious recipe from Husband's brother and his wife, the same ones who gave us the secrets of cake mix peach cobbler.  Although I call this my fancy lasagna, it is still pretty easy to throw together.

Here is what you need:
9 lasagna noodles
1 lb. Ground Beef
1 Small Onion, chopped
2 Cloves Minced Garlic
1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce- You can use homemade if you are feeling extra fancy.
4 oz. Fresh Mushrooms, sliced
2 Eggs
1 lb. Cottage Cheese
3/4 C Parmesan Cheese
2 T Dried Parsley
1/2 t Salt
1/2 t Black Pepper
16 oz. Mozzarella Cheese

1. Cook Noodles according to package directions.

2. Brown meat with onions and garlic until the meat is fully cooked. Drain off fat.

3. Add sauce and mushrooms. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir occassionally.

 

4. In a separate bowl, beat eggs. Add cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of Parmesan, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix to combine.

 

5. Layer the ingredients in a 9x13 inch pan. Spread a little sauce on the bottom of the pan to prevent noodles from sticking. Then layer noodles, cheese mixture, meat/sauce mixture, mozzarella cheese and repeat.

 

6. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until browned and bubbly.

Serve with some garlic bread and something green and healthy. Enjoy!

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My sister, Sarah, and I used to attend cooking classes at a local grocery store together. They were so much fun. We got to sit in the audience while someone demonstrated a new dish and at the end we all got samples and a copy of the recipe. Now that we have both moved away I really miss those classes.

Plov is one of the recipes we got there. It is a Russian dish, but I don't know how authentic it is when I make it. Either way it is delicious. It has become a regular on our dinner menu. Plus it is very easy to make and we generally have all of the ingredients on hand.

Ingredients:

1 Large chicken breast, cut into cubes
1 small onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, grated
1 c. rice, cooked according to the package
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
Chicken Bouillon Granules - They work better than just the cubes, but I imagine you could
smash up a cube.
Curry powder to taste
1-2 T Oil

1. In a large skillet (sometimes we even break it into 2 skillets for easier cooking) heat the oil. Sprinkle the bouillon on the chicken, I always use extra because that's my favorite flavor in the dish, and place in the hot oil. Fry for about 5 minutes.

2. Add rice, carrots, onions and garlic to the chicken. Use more oil as needed.

3. Sprinkle the chicken mixture with the curry power, continue cooking until nicely browned. The browning can take awhile. Turn the temperature down and flip it every few minutes. We like it more on the crispy side. 

So yummy!

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