I've realized lately that I have a few recipes I've made a bunch of times that always come out great, and the leftovers never go to waste. I don't have a lot of them, but my goal is to work my way towards a Top 10. I think it would be great to have 10 solid recipes that I can go to as quick and easy staples for weeknight dinners... and this baked ziti will always be at the top of that list!
I tend to do well with Italian recipes - they must be tough to mess up! Luckily, Dan and I are both big pasta fans, and this is an incredibly easy way to have something more than regular old spaghetti. I also made a HUGE pan of this for my mom's birthday party and ended up with lots of compliments and barely any leftovers - so it's a hit all around!
Baked Ziti
1 lb ziti pasta (any variation of a mostacholi noodle works just as well)
1 lb lean ground beef
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
6 slices provolone cheese
1 bag shredded Italian cheeses (or just mozzarella)
grated parmesan cheese
Cook the pasta until al dente, and drain.
Cook the ground beef in a skillet (I seasoned it with just garlic salt & pepper. The recipe also called for onion but i skipped that). Discard juices and mix in spaghetti sauce - simmer just until warm.
Using a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish, layer ingredients in this order:
1. half of the pasta (I mixed a tiny bit of sauce in it so it wouldn't be too dry on the bottom)
2. provolone cheese
3. sour cream (if using)
4. ground beef and sauce mixture
5. the other half of the pasta
6. shredded cheese
7. grated parmesan
Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until the top cheeses start to brown.
A few things I've learned while making this dish:
1. Something slightly larger than a 9x13 dish would also work - I usually have a little leftover pasta and a little leftover sauce mixture that doesn't fit into the layers. For us, it doesn't go to waste because Dan will take it for lunch the next day, but a bigger dish would fit everything perfectly! I am, however, slightly attached to my 9x13, and tend to use it for anything I possibly can.
2. Cooking the pasta just until al dente is IMPORTANT. If cooked all the way and THEN baked for 30 minutes it can get a bit soggy.
3. The leftovers of this are just as good as the first time around. :)
I'm tempted to try this with wheat or organic pasta and low-fat cheeses to see how it works as a "healthier" meal. I think this would also be great with spinach added in to the layers, but the pop of green would automatically mean Dan wouldn't eat it, so I'll have to save that experiment for another time.
- - - - -
On another note - I ordered curtains for the dining room from Linens-n-Things for next to nothing, as they are finally all closing and clearing out their online inventory. They are very simple plain navy curtains, but for $11.99 I couldn't justify passing them up. AND, they were part of the buy one get one free section with free shipping - so I got 4 panels for that price! Our 2 dining room windows are fairly small, so I'm pretty sure I'll end up with 2 extra panels, which I'm tempted to add over the blinds in our bedroom for a little bit more of a "comforting" feel than stark white blinds give. I figure I can also add some cheap sheers from ikea over the navy in the dining room for a great finishing touch. I'll post pictures once the curtains are delivered and in place!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Sweet and Sour Chicken a la Caili
So, I love my blog, and I love blogging. And since I don't have tons of big house projects to post about anymore, I've decided that I'm going to use this as a forum for ANYTHING I want to write about as long as it is somehow 906 related. Case in point... cooking in our new kitchen!!
I'm not a really great cook, and I know that. But, I try hard, and lately I've been getting more and more into cooking and when I get a good recipe to follow I sometimes (often!) end up with something great... such as the dinner I made last night - Sweet & Sour Chicken!
At work, my friends Caili, Stacey and I spend considerable amounts of time talking about recipes and cooking, and this recipe is one Caili has been urging us to make for months. I couldn't be happier that I finally tried it out last night! It's perfect for a weekend dinner when you can start cooking early and not be starving by the time it's done. It's also great for "beginners" like me, since all of the ingredients are things that are typically already in your fridge or pantry - (I get frustrated with recipes that require me to buy random things I'll only use when making that particular dish).
Now, finish reading this post, then grab all these simple ingredients and make this for dinner tonight. Seriously. I'm not kidding, this stuff gives takeout a run for its money.
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Chicken:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil
Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.
Sauce:
¾ cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt
Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. Serve over rice. If you like extra sauce, make another batch of sauce and bring it to a boil on the stovetop. Stir constantly and let cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced - about 6-8 minutes.
YUM!!!
A few things I learned while making this last night -
1. You probably don't need an entire cup of cornstarch. I ended up throwing a bunch away. Next time, I'll use a 1/2 cup and just dump a little more in the bowl if I need it.
2. I need to invest in some tongs. When frying the chicken I ended up losing some of the breading because turning the pieces with a spoon or fork was a little rough. I think tongs would have helped mine to be as pretty as the picture above.
3. A 9x13 baking dish is not big enough to bake the chicken in a single layer as the recipe suggests. Mine still turned out great, but again, the breading may have stuck better if the chicken had been more spread out.
Original recipe and photo from My Kitchen Cafe
I'm not a really great cook, and I know that. But, I try hard, and lately I've been getting more and more into cooking and when I get a good recipe to follow I sometimes (often!) end up with something great... such as the dinner I made last night - Sweet & Sour Chicken!
At work, my friends Caili, Stacey and I spend considerable amounts of time talking about recipes and cooking, and this recipe is one Caili has been urging us to make for months. I couldn't be happier that I finally tried it out last night! It's perfect for a weekend dinner when you can start cooking early and not be starving by the time it's done. It's also great for "beginners" like me, since all of the ingredients are things that are typically already in your fridge or pantry - (I get frustrated with recipes that require me to buy random things I'll only use when making that particular dish).
Now, finish reading this post, then grab all these simple ingredients and make this for dinner tonight. Seriously. I'm not kidding, this stuff gives takeout a run for its money.
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Chicken:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil
Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.
Sauce:
¾ cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt
Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. Serve over rice. If you like extra sauce, make another batch of sauce and bring it to a boil on the stovetop. Stir constantly and let cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced - about 6-8 minutes.
YUM!!!
A few things I learned while making this last night -
1. You probably don't need an entire cup of cornstarch. I ended up throwing a bunch away. Next time, I'll use a 1/2 cup and just dump a little more in the bowl if I need it.
2. I need to invest in some tongs. When frying the chicken I ended up losing some of the breading because turning the pieces with a spoon or fork was a little rough. I think tongs would have helped mine to be as pretty as the picture above.
3. A 9x13 baking dish is not big enough to bake the chicken in a single layer as the recipe suggests. Mine still turned out great, but again, the breading may have stuck better if the chicken had been more spread out.
Original recipe and photo from My Kitchen Cafe
Thursday, January 22, 2009
oh, disposable income...
...how I wish I had more of it! HA. Thankfully, I enjoy window shopping and browsing around online almost as much as real shopping. Well, maybe not almost as much, but I enjoy it nonetheless. Today, I found a table runner on sale at CB2 that matches my dining room chairs so perfectly it's crazy. Pair it with some bright placemats and a few fun plates and I'd have the colorful but subdued, trendy but modern look that I'm really going for.
While I've done mood boards in the past, I have a new found love for them after stumbling on this utter amazingness (I don't care if that's a real word or not) earlier this week -
This Young House
This young couple did what Dan and I did - bought a fixer-upper, realized they had a lot of fun doing (most of) the work on the house themselves... and then started to blog about it! Sherry and John took it one step further, though, and began offering custom design advice (complete with said mood boards) and solving design dilemmas across the country - all while posting it in the blogosphere for everyone out there, like ME!, to read. GENIUS. The best part of it all? Everything they did at their own house and nearly all of what they suggest for others is done with a "real" budget in mind. Add in lots more eye candy on their site and some paid advertising and this is a tried and true example of my dream come true - This Young House became so successful it is now Sherry's full time job! The two have also become regular contributor writers for several design and home publications. Seriously? Please can I have your life?
On another note, I realize I haven't posted much renovation/housework related goodness lately, and that's because lately, we haven't had as much to do! All of our major projects are done and we've really been able to settle in since the holidays. Of course, there will ALWAYS be plenty to keep us busy - such as patching holes like we did over the long weekend - but, at least for now, we're done with everything that took up huge bulks of time and money (yay!).
We DO still have our final village inspection at the end of the month, but there's little doubt that it won't go well seeing as Dan has done an incredible job of getting all the little things required of us together and ready. Fingers crossed!
While I've done mood boards in the past, I have a new found love for them after stumbling on this utter amazingness (I don't care if that's a real word or not) earlier this week -
This Young House
This young couple did what Dan and I did - bought a fixer-upper, realized they had a lot of fun doing (most of) the work on the house themselves... and then started to blog about it! Sherry and John took it one step further, though, and began offering custom design advice (complete with said mood boards) and solving design dilemmas across the country - all while posting it in the blogosphere for everyone out there, like ME!, to read. GENIUS. The best part of it all? Everything they did at their own house and nearly all of what they suggest for others is done with a "real" budget in mind. Add in lots more eye candy on their site and some paid advertising and this is a tried and true example of my dream come true - This Young House became so successful it is now Sherry's full time job! The two have also become regular contributor writers for several design and home publications. Seriously? Please can I have your life?
On another note, I realize I haven't posted much renovation/housework related goodness lately, and that's because lately, we haven't had as much to do! All of our major projects are done and we've really been able to settle in since the holidays. Of course, there will ALWAYS be plenty to keep us busy - such as patching holes like we did over the long weekend - but, at least for now, we're done with everything that took up huge bulks of time and money (yay!).
We DO still have our final village inspection at the end of the month, but there's little doubt that it won't go well seeing as Dan has done an incredible job of getting all the little things required of us together and ready. Fingers crossed!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
SURPRISE!!!!
Last weekend, we threw a surprise party for my mom's upcoming 50th birthday. Besides my dad missing the entire thing due to the snow, which was a huge disappointment, we had a great time and my mom got to have lots of people who love her all together at once to celebrate her being "50 and fabulous"... even though she doesn't look a day over 35 :)
Here's some fun pictures from the party!
Surprise!!! See how Kevin is holding a broom in the background? That's because we told my mom it was a housewarming party for Dan and I - and she believed us! The broom was one of the gifts she brought us :).
Greatest cake ever!! A friend of mine at work did this amazing illustration of my mom.
We missed my dad!!! :(
Goofy siblings :)
Happy birthday mom! I love you!!
Here's some fun pictures from the party!
Surprise!!! See how Kevin is holding a broom in the background? That's because we told my mom it was a housewarming party for Dan and I - and she believed us! The broom was one of the gifts she brought us :).
Greatest cake ever!! A friend of mine at work did this amazing illustration of my mom.
We missed my dad!!! :(
Goofy siblings :)
Happy birthday mom! I love you!!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
...and your blessings be more
Well here we are at the end of the holidays, with Monday morning looming over everyone. I am terrified that I am going to sleep straight through my alarm tomorrow, seeing as I have knocked my sleep schedule off by a solid 4 or 5 hours in the last two weeks. Luckily, it's early and I'm already feeling sleepy... so hopefully with a little writing I'll be all set for bed and ready to get back to the real world in the morning.
What a huge help it was to have nearly two full weeks off of work to spend at the house! I'm extremely proud of everything we've gotten done, and our progress is really starting to pay off. Here's a BUNCH of pictures of everything coming together!
First up, the finishing touch on the kitchen - crown molding -
If you look closely, you can see the Irish blessing trivet from my mom and Manda hanging above the sink. It reads:
"May your troubles be less and your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door" - What a perfect outlook for the new year. Thanks also go to my Uncle Joe and Aunt Marie for the generous Home Depot gift card they got us as a housewarming present, which we used to buy Dan the finish nailer he'd wanted and needed for the molding!
My mom and Manda also surprised us with two other Irish housewarming pieces - a gorgeous plate with another blessing and celtic knot on it, and a little tealight lantern with a shamrock on it. They look great on the mantle -
Our living room is becoming more comfortable and homey every day. More new decorative additions - a mirror from my aunts Debbie and Cinde, and a candle holder for the fireplace from Mrs. Lawler, something I've wanted ever since we moved in -
Dan's most exciting Christmas present from his parents rounds out the living room... his new "catnapper" recliner -
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season, and a huge thanks to our families and friends for making our first Christmas and New Years in our house so special.
Hardworking pictures of the dining room to come in the next post!
What a huge help it was to have nearly two full weeks off of work to spend at the house! I'm extremely proud of everything we've gotten done, and our progress is really starting to pay off. Here's a BUNCH of pictures of everything coming together!
First up, the finishing touch on the kitchen - crown molding -
If you look closely, you can see the Irish blessing trivet from my mom and Manda hanging above the sink. It reads:
"May your troubles be less and your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door" - What a perfect outlook for the new year. Thanks also go to my Uncle Joe and Aunt Marie for the generous Home Depot gift card they got us as a housewarming present, which we used to buy Dan the finish nailer he'd wanted and needed for the molding!
My mom and Manda also surprised us with two other Irish housewarming pieces - a gorgeous plate with another blessing and celtic knot on it, and a little tealight lantern with a shamrock on it. They look great on the mantle -
Our living room is becoming more comfortable and homey every day. More new decorative additions - a mirror from my aunts Debbie and Cinde, and a candle holder for the fireplace from Mrs. Lawler, something I've wanted ever since we moved in -
Dan's most exciting Christmas present from his parents rounds out the living room... his new "catnapper" recliner -
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season, and a huge thanks to our families and friends for making our first Christmas and New Years in our house so special.
Hardworking pictures of the dining room to come in the next post!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
"it looks like a home!"
I've missed blogging!!! We were extremely busy - and blessed - this holiday season, and although I was lucky enough to have nearly 2 weeks off of work which should have left lots of time for writing, we've been working around the house tons and I've been without internet on my laptop, leaving me no way to blog unless I left off pictures... no fun! Tonight, I'm hanging out at my mom and dad's house while Dan sleeps off some of his fun from our party last night. What better opportunity to get online and post some pictures my mom took from the first official party at 906!
What would a party be without left-right-center? I, as usual, did not win a dime, but I still can't get enough of this game.
Check out the hutch in the background!! Dan, Amanda and I spent ALL day Tuesday stripping the wood and sanding it, and although I have vowed to never strip wood again, it's clear that our hard work on this piece is going to pay off and the end result will be beautiful. I can't wait until it's completely finished and stained and I can post a before and after shot. In the meantime though, it did a great job acting as our bar for the party - we're planning to keep it as a bar when it's finished as well.
Here's Jackie and I in the completely FINISHED kitchen! This picture doesn't really show the crown molding Dan put up, but it's a great final touch.
Look! Our living room is big enough to have a salsa dance party in! I love this picture of the Lawler's. It was great having our families together for the party!
I loved seeing people's reactions when they got to the house and saw how far we've come since we moved in. My aunt and uncle haven't been to the house pretty much since Halloween, as well as some friends, so it was a huge encouragement to hear their awe at how different and great the place looks!
More painting pictures and pictures of the living room and dining room pre-party to come as soon as I can get my laptop back online!
What would a party be without left-right-center? I, as usual, did not win a dime, but I still can't get enough of this game.
Check out the hutch in the background!! Dan, Amanda and I spent ALL day Tuesday stripping the wood and sanding it, and although I have vowed to never strip wood again, it's clear that our hard work on this piece is going to pay off and the end result will be beautiful. I can't wait until it's completely finished and stained and I can post a before and after shot. In the meantime though, it did a great job acting as our bar for the party - we're planning to keep it as a bar when it's finished as well.Here's Jackie and I in the completely FINISHED kitchen! This picture doesn't really show the crown molding Dan put up, but it's a great final touch.
Look! Our living room is big enough to have a salsa dance party in! I love this picture of the Lawler's. It was great having our families together for the party!
I loved seeing people's reactions when they got to the house and saw how far we've come since we moved in. My aunt and uncle haven't been to the house pretty much since Halloween, as well as some friends, so it was a huge encouragement to hear their awe at how different and great the place looks!
More painting pictures and pictures of the living room and dining room pre-party to come as soon as I can get my laptop back online!
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