Baked Ziti and something new for my kitchen!!

Last week while watching tv I saw Robin Miller making baked ziti on the Food Network. That's what started my craving. I decided we'd have that for dinner one night but I didn't copy her recipe. I sort of made up my own. I had a little help by using jarred sauce but added a few fresh ingredients. Oh gosh I just realized I sounded like Sandra Lee on Semi-Homemade. A reference to Robin Miller and Sandra Lee all in the same paragraph! Ahh! What's gotten into me? Sorry, I really don't care for their style of cooking. Well anyway, it turned out pretty good if I do say so. We had this tonight with a garden salad. I can't wait to eat the leftovers!


Baked Ziti

1/2 lb ziti
1 jar Bertolli Five Cheese Pasta Sauce
1/4 large white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large tomato, roughly chopped
1/2 lb ground beef
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Cook ground beef in a skillet until no longer pink. Drain. Saute the onion and garlic in the pan for about 5 min. Add the ground beef back to the pan. Add sauce and chopped tomato. Cover and simmer while preparing the pasta. Boil the water for the pasta and cook the pasta until done, about 8-10 min. Drain. Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray. Add a layer of sauce in the bottom of the dish. Top with a layer of ziti. Add another layer of sauce and then 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Add another layer of ziti and another layer of sauce. Top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 min. Then remove foil and bake an additional 15 min, until the cheese is golden and bubbly.



My husband and I were both off work today and decided to stop by a local antique mall. We like to go and browse the aisles when we have some time to kill. It's one of those places where people have booths set up to sell all their old junk as well as valuable antiques. While we were looking around I spotted a baker's rack that I really liked. I have been looking for one for a couple years now. Well I couldn't believe it when I saw it was only $35. I told my husband I had to get it!! We brought it home and it's the perfect place to store my cookbooks, aprons and other knick-knacks. I just love it! It fit perfectly in my kitchen.