Make It Blog

I have to bring a dish to a potluck tomorrow and decided on my all-time crowd-pleasing baked ziti recipe. I went on my lunch break at work to get all the ingredients so I could go straight home after work and get started… baked ziti can be time consuming and I didn’t want to be up until midnight. I cooked the noodles and browned the beef, and was starting to layer the ingredients. When I opened the *brand new* package of provolone cheese (that I had purchased *that day*), it was moldy. Usually such things don’t get me worked up, but I was pissed! I had to stop everything, turn off the oven, and drive back to Ralph’s (passed 3 other grocery stores since Ralph’s isn’t the closest one to me). I decided on the way there that I wasn’t going to settle for less than my money back and a replacement package of provolone cheese. I went to the return desk:

Me: I need to make a return – this provolone cheese I bought today is covered in mold.

Ralphs Lady: Would you just like to get another one or would you like your money back?

Me: I would like to get another one *and* get my money back. (Politely, but firmly – and I was fully prepared to raise a fit)

Ralph’s Lady: OK

Right on Ralphs! Made my night… now, back to the baked ziti!

This is the same recipe as on allrecipes.com, but I changed the directions a bit. This freezes really well (if you’re going to freeze it, stop after step 4) and the leftovers are great too!

Baked Ziti
Original recipe found here

1 pound dry ziti pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cups sour cream (sometimes I use cottage cheese instead!)
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
3. While waiting for the water to boil, brown onion and ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
4. Butter a 9×13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: a little sauce (just enough to cover the bottom), 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

I had such a wonderful weekend. It was one of those weekends that subjects unsuspecting co-workers to a 15 minute breakdown of every wonderful detail when they ask “did you have a nice weekend?”

On Saturday, Chris and I took Joe for a hike up Iron Mountain and then headed up to Julian for dinner. It was all completely spontaneous (we’re lucky we had enough water for the hike!) and all so nice.

On Sunday, we started the day with Crab Hash Potatoes and lounged around… mostly recovering from the the hike the day before! 

Crab Hash Potatoes

16 oz frozen hash brown potatoes
3 tbsp vegetable oil
4 strips bacon
1/3 cup onion, chopped
6 oz crab meat
Dash of Old Bay Seasoning

1. Cook hash brown potatoes according to package directions
2. In a seperate frying pan, cook the bacon. Remove bacon strips (keep the bacon fat!) and crumble.
3. Cook the onions in the bacon fat and transfer to the pan with potatoes. Add the bacon too.
4. Add Old Bay Seasoning and crab meat and cook until heated through.
5. Serve with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce (made in a blender – it comes out perfect every time!)