Baked Ziti

Baked Ziti
*****
Ingredients:1 lb. ziti pasta1 onion, chopped1 lb. Italian sausage2 24oz. jars spaghetti sauce (I prefer Prego Meat Sauce, it tends to be thicker)6 slices Provolone cheese1 1/2 cup sour cream2 cups Mozzarella cheeseParmesan cheese, to coverDirections:1. In a large skillet, brown Italian sausage with onion. Drain fat. Add spaghetti sauce to skillet and simmer for 15 minutes.2. While meat mixture is simmering, boil noodles until al dente. Drain.3. Layer as follows in a 9x13 pan:1/2 ziti noodles, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 meat sauce mixture, remaining ziti noodles, Mozzarella cheese, remaining meat sauce mixture, and cover with Parmesan cheese.4. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Stuffed Pizza Rolls w/ Pizza Sauce

Stuffed Pizza Rolls
(recipes and more)
We sometimes call this "Inside-Out" pizza too. They're garlicky, cheesy little pizza dough balls filled with all of the yummy toppings you'd put on a pizza. To eat, just pop one off and dunk it in marinara sauce. Don't you love finger food? And don't you love dunking things? I suppose regular pizza is finger food as well, but for some reason this is way more fun. Must be the dunking factor. You can pick your own fillings. We love Canadian bacon and pineapple, or Italian turkey sausage and chopped tomatoes. Pepperoni and cheese is always a hit and you could easily make these vegetarian as well. This makes great party food or a fun appetizer, but in our house we often pair it with a salad and call it dinner. It works especially great for little fingers so my boys love 'em!hmm...looks like I forgot garlic in this picture. Have you noticed that I forget at least one ingredient about 97% of the time??Stuffed Pizza Rolls(I don't really measure, so you get what you get here!)print recipe text only1 roll refrigerated pizza dough* (or make your own)marinara/pizza sauce (click here to make your own)2 T grated Parmesan cheese (sorry, I don't know how to make that)1 T olive oil or melted butter1/2 t garlic powder1 t dried Italian seasoningmozzerella cheesePizza toppings of your choice: ie, ham and pineapple, pepperoni slices, sausage, etc.*You can use regular pizza dough, or thin crust. I used thin crust when taking these pictures.Preheat oven to heat specified on pizza dough package. Usually it's 400 degrees. If you make your own dough, 400 is usually a good heat as well.Unroll your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll the dough so it's about 12" by 8". You're going to want to cut it into 24 squares, so just eyeball it if you need to. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 24 squares (bet ya didn't see that one comin' did ya?)Place cheese and desired toppings on each square. (Note that you're not putting the marinara sauce on the dough- it's for dipping after) You guys are smart, right? Just eyeball how much. You just need to be able to enclose the toppings in the dough so keep that in mind. For these ones pictured I used a teaspoon each of cheese, canadian bacon, and pineapple.When all of your dough squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings. Pinch to make sure each ball is sealed shut and then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan (or similar sized dish).Brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil or melted butter (I've used both and there's not much difference in result) and then sprinkle with the garlic and Italian seasoning and top with Parmesan cheese. (In lieu of the Parmesan, garlic, and Italian seasoning you could substitute this garlic bread seasoning.)Cook them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Keep an eye on them! Doughs vary, so I'd check them after even 10 minutes.Serve warm with warmed marinara sauce on the side for dipping.The outsides are like garlic bread and the insides are full of oozing cheese. This might just be a perfect food.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Pizza Sauce
Who the heck doesn't love pizza? There must be some of you out there, but I'm pretty sure that pizza is one of the most versatile, universally-loved food out there. You can get the down-home, crowd-pleasing Chicago deep dish supreme or a fancy-schmancy thin-crusted Italian Margherita.
I've been married for 7 years and have spent the better part of that time trying to perfect homemade pizza. No matter what I did, it always came out a little doughy and underdone with a weird aftertaste and it would take me straight back to horrible flashbacks of homemade pizza made from a boxed mix when I was a kid. I guess I can get how people hate pizza, especially homemade pizza, if that's all they've ever known.About a year ago, I finally got it right. The sauce, too. This week, we'll be doing the first of two homemade pizza cooking classes. Think of this as Pizza 101--the basics; versatile sauce, versatile crust, baked in an oven. In a few weeks, we'll follow up with something a little more advanced.There are lots of recipes for pizza sauce out there, but most of them are pretty work intensive. Quite honestly, if I'm going through the trouble to make homemade pizza, I don't want to have to cook the sauce, too. Also, a lot of them are chunky and I don't like chunky pizza sauce. And a lot of them are cooked with quite a bit of oil, so when you add the cheese, the pizza is all heavy and greasy.I like this recipe because in addition to being super-yummy, it comes together in just a few minutes and uses ingredients you'll probably have in your cupboard, anyway. Also, it's a great dipping sauce for breadsticks! Ready, Freddy?Pizza Sauceprint recipe text only1 6-oz. can tomato paste6 oz. water (just use the empty tomato paste can)3 Tbsp. garlic bread seasoning1 Tbsp. sugar or honey (I usually use sugar because it's easier and hey, I think we've established here that if there's an easy road or a hard road, I usually take the easy road...)3/4 tsp. onion powder1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
Empty tomato paste into a bowl and add water a few tablespoons at a time, stirring constantly until combined. Add remaining ingredients, stir to combine, and allow to stand until ready to use. Covers two average-sized pizza; freezes extremely well.

Nick's Italian Spaghetti Recipe

Olive oil2-3 carrots, peeled, chopped1 small onion, finely chopped1 lb. ground beef (if you want to do it Nick’s way, you would do ½ lb.pork, ½ lb ground beef)3 cans diced tomatoes (imported plum tomatoes are the best, or 1 ½ lbs cherry tomatoes, half the tomatoes and sauté until they are softened and have started to release their juices, about 3-4 minutes)4 basil leaves (fresh), or 1-2 tsp. dried basilDash sugarDash saltDash pepper1 lb. spaghettiHeat oil on medium heat. Add carrots and onion. Saute a couple minutes, then add beef. Brown beef, then add tomatoes, basil, sugar, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The longer you simmer, the better (ideally, 2+ hours). In a large pot, cook spaghetti to al dente, drain completely and return to pot. Add sauce to the spaghetti noodles and toss until noodles are covered. Serve immediately.

Crock Pot Spaghetti

crock pot spaghetti
crock pot recipes are the best because you can make them earlier in the day and not have to worry about dinner when things seem to get busy. this has always been one of my family favorites. my mom cooks this to perfection-- i made it today and jake loved it. enjoy!

ingredients:

1 lb hamburger
2 tbsp. dry minced onion (my mom and i use regular onion, diced)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2- 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 1/2 tsp. italian seasoning
1- 4 oz. can sliced mushrooms (i always get a bigger can because we love mushrooms)
3 cups tomato juice
4 oz. dry spaghetti, broken



directions:

brown beef in skillet with onion, put in crock pot. add remaining ingredients minus spaghetti, stir well. cover. cook on low for 6-8 hours (or high for 3-5). turn to high the last hour and add dry spaghetti.

Pastor Ryan's Bolognese Sauce

Pastor Ryan’s Bolognese Sauce
(thepioneerwoman.com)
Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 2 Hours Difficulty: Easy Servings: 8
Ingredients
½ cups Olive Oil
1-½ cup Grated Carrots
1 whole Large Red Onion, Diced
2 pounds Ground Beef
2 Tablespoons Dried Oregano
2 Tablespoons Dried Basil Flakes
1 can (6 Ounce) Tomato Paste
5 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 cup (to 2 Cups) Red Wine
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire
2 cans (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes
1 cup Milk
Salt And Pepper, to taste
Fresh Parmesan Cheese
Preparation Instructions
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or skillet over medium heat. Add grated carrots and onions and cook for a few minutes. Make a well in the center of the mixture, and then add in the ground beef. Cook for a few minutes until brown, gradually stirring it into the carrot mixture.
Throw in oregano and basil. Use fresh if you have it; if you don’t, it’s fine. When the meat is browned and combined with other ingredients, make another well. Add tomato paste and let it heat. Add garlic and stir to combine.
Make a well in the center of the mixture and add red wine. Stir together. Add Worcestershire and stir. Add canned tomatoes. Finally, pour in milk, stir, and let simmer for 30 minutes to 2 hours—however long you need.
Serve with pasta and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.