Baked Ziti

this is kind of granola but we are getting old and so we are trying to eat healthier. we try to do a vegetarian dish a week. this is our try for the week sans the meat (from the original recipe). it's still hearty and would probably be good for a freezer meal, even though i haven't tried to freeze it yet.

Ingredients

• Salt
• 1 pound ziti
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 6 ounces pesto
• 15 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 (9-ounce) package washed spinach
• Butter, for baking dish
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella, plus more for topping
• 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan, plus more for topping
  

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add ziti and cook until al dente. Drain in a colander.

In a large skillet over medium heat, saute onion and garlic. Add the can of diced tomatoes and pesto and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the ricotta cheese, spinach, Parmesan and mozzarella to a large bowl, and stir to combine.

Butter a 4-quart baking dish, add the cooked pasta, then tomato mixture and cheese mixture. Top with a sprinkling of mozzarella and Parmesan.

Bake until completely heated through and golden and crisp on top, about 20 minutes.

recipe courtesy the neelys, food network

Easy Marinara

1 (104-106 oz) costco/sams club can tomato sauce (about $2.50)
1 (104-106 oz) costco/sams club can diced tomatoes (about $2.50)
whatever spice you have on hand (italian seasoning blend, basil, oregano, thyme, whatever is growing in the garden!)

Combine in big pot and simmer on low heat for a couple of hours. Allow to cool. Freeze in 2-3 cup portions, depending on what your family needs. Done!

total cost: $5-7, depending on if you have to buy spices also. yeild: about 18 cups.

compare to buying 18 cups of bottled sauce - $15.

some things i use this for:

spaghetti (of course): i'll brown a package of turkey sausage and throw the meat and sauce in the crockpot for the afternoon or i'll just put some frozen meat balls in the crockpot and cover with sauce and let it cook on low the afternoon. it seems to give it a richer, fuller flavor than just heating the two up together right before dinner. plus, it's a meal i can have ready for my tween or husband to finish up if i have to be gone.

pasta bakes: my latest one consisted of about 8 oz. penne pasta, cooked and mixed with some marinara sauce. layer the pasta, then some shredded rotissere chicken, pasta, then cheese. so easy. made enough for a meal with just me and the kids when dad was out of town and a meal with the whole family. you could do this with any kind of pasta, any kind of meat, maybe even some caramalized onions, mushrooms, etc. add a layer of ricotta cheese and get that lasagna feel without the lasagna work.

the original recipe came from a friend who made it with homemade ravioli: fill wonton skin wrappers with what ever you want. she did some frozen spinach, ricotta, mozzarella and some spices. boil them in salted water until they float to the top - 2-3 minutes each. super fast. serve with some of this marinara sauce over the top. the kids loved it.

this is the sauce i use for meatball sandwiches, pizza/calzone sauce, breadstick dip, etc. it is a little runny though so i might experiment in the future by doing a 2 to 1 ratio of diced tomatoes to tomato sauce. maybe someone else has a good idea already?

littlefield menu plan [week of 10 May]

sometimes we sit down and make a menu plan for the week. it's helpful to do and maybe this blog will help encourage that. here's our "plan" for this week. sometimes we skip a day depending on how many leftovers we have but at least it gives us a jump off point with our crazy schedules.

monday: baked ziti | salad | french bread

tuesday: taco tuesday | salsa | lime cilantro rice
del taco has 3|$1 tacos. not the best quality, but it's cheap and convenient since steve has baseball that night.

wednesday: italian crock pot chicken | rice | steamed broccoli

thursday: red fish | rice | salad

we leave friday and saturday open and either go out to eat or eat leftovers.

Rolls and Crusts

In a recent Relief Society meeting, they gave this great recipe for 60 minute rolls. They talked about how more cost effective it was than frozen Rhodes rolls or rolls from the bakery. There's no preservative or unknown extras. With all the low carb hype, they even mentioned something about it being healthy to eat all the bread you want, as long as you make it yourself. If you put in the effort and make it with good ingredients, moderation is more likely and you can enjoy what you eat. So here are some of my go to recipes.


60 Minute Rolls:


In a large bowl (I use my kitchen aid with the whisk attachment) thoroughly mix:

1 1/2 C. flour
3 T. sugar
1 t. salt
5 1/2 t. yeast

Combine in sauce pan:

1 C. milk
1/2 C. water
1/4 C. butter

Heat over low heat until liquids are very warm (120-130 degrees) but not boiling. Butter does not need to melt.

Gradually add liquids to yeast mixture and beat for 2 minutes at medium speed (you could also use an electric mixer), scraping sides of bowl occasionally.

Add 1/2 C. flour.

Beat at high speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.

Stir in enough flour to make a soft dough (ending up having used 3 1/2-4 1/2 C in all). At this point I switch to the dough hook attachment and mix until dough forms ball and comes away from sides. By hand, you would turn out onto floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. When you push a finger softly into the dough it should come away clean.

Place in a greased bowl. Place the bowl in a pan or pot of hot water (about 98 degrees), similar to a double boiler. Cover and let rise 15 minutes until double.

Divide dough, shape into rolls, and place on baking sheet or pan. Cover. Let rise in a warm place, free from draft for about 15 minutes until double again.

Bake at 425 degrees for about 12 minutes or until browned and done.

Notes: So it does make more mess in the kitchen than store bought rolls but again, I do it one day and make extra batches to freeze so I clean up less - not every day we want to eat rolls.

I usually substitue at least 1 cup of whole wheat flour for white flour. I'm trying to ween my family onto greater amounts of whole wheat. Since I don't go through that much whole wheat flour, I keep it in a ziplock in the freezer. Allow the amount you're going to use to come to room temp before mixing into recipe for better results.

I have found the best freezing results are when I cook them normally all the way through, cool, then freeze. I try to catch them when they are just barely browned but I don't always and even if they are nicely browned they still freeze ok. I always layer in a single row on cookie sheets and place in freezer. When hard, I transfer to gallon freezer ziplock bags to store. To eat later, warm in oven for 5 minutes or just microwave for those kids who can't wait. Use within 6 months.

You could shape this into anything - bread loaves, bread sticks, etc.


Easy pizza dough:

3 1/2 C. flour
2 pcks dry active yeast
1 t. salt
1/2 t. sugar
1 1/2 C. lukewarm water
1/2 t. olive oil

Mix flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Gradually add water while kneading with dough hook or by hand. Knead until firm and smooth (about 10 minutes). Place in an oiled bowl, turning to coat top also. Let rise until doubled (about 1-2 hours).

Preheat oven to 500 degrees (I usually do 450).

Using hands or rolling pin, work 1/2 dough into desired shape. Top and bake 10-12 minutes.

Freezer meals:

Option 1 - Assemble pizza in foil pan. Cover and freeze. Allow to thaw in fridge the night before. Bake as above.

Option 2 - After dough has risen, punch down then place in oiled freezer ziplock. Freeze. Allow dough to defrost/rise on kitchen counter 8-12 hours. Assemble, top, bake.

Notes: So I've done this recipe and used half the night I made the dough for pizza and frozen the other half. With the other half, I made a chicken bake thing by rolling the dough out into a rectangle on a cookie sheet that I had sprinkled with cornmeal. Then I layered some fresh, clean, dry spinach leaves down the middle. Top with sliced cooked chicken (I'll share the Rosemary Ranch marinade later), thinly sliced onions, cheese, whatever else you want (maybe mushrooms, roast red peppers, etc.). Fold sides of dough over top and pinch to seal all edges. Brush some ceaser dressing over top and sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Bake like the pizza recipe. Allow to cool a few minutes before slicing.

Meatloaf Recipe

Since this recipe takes a lot of prep, I usually multiply the recipe - then I don't have to do it again for a long time. I'll chop everything and then put it together in batches in my kitchen aid. I don't do it all at once because my kitchen aid can only fit one batch at a time.


Group 1:
2 t. butter
3/4 C onion, chopped
3/4 C scallions, sliced (sometimes I just do more onion if that's what I have)
1/2 C red pepper, diced (this usually comes out to about half a pepper)
2 t. minced garlic

Group 2:
2 eggs
1/2 C. ketchup
1/2 C. milk
1 T. plus 1 t. worchestershire sauce
1/2 t. salt

Group 3:
2 lb. ground beef or turkey
12 oz. pork sausage (not italian sausage) or turkey sausage
3/4 c. dried bread crumbs

1. Melt butter in skillet. Add the rest of group 1. Cook until soft.
2. Beat eggs in big bowl. Add the rest of group 2.
3. Combine all groups well.

At this point, I usually use my muffin scoop and drop meatloaf balls on a cookie sheet covered with foil and freeze. After they're hard, I pop them into a gallon ziplock. To cook, take out as many balls as you want, place in a pan, top with some ketchup and bake at 375 degrees for about 30-40 minutes, less time if you let them thaw in fridge overnight - you'd want to thaw in the pan you will bake them in, not the bag. My family is good with about 12 per dinner.

You could also portion into tradition meatloaves in foil bread pans and freeze - definitely let this version thaw in fridge over night. Regular meatloaf sized portion calls for baking 1 hour, 15 minutes or until center is 155 degrees. Let stand 15 minutes before slicing.

So we'll have this as a dinner with rice or potatoes and veggies. Another option is meatloaf sandwiches (Butter bread with ketchup, layer meatloaf and then provolone cheese. Bake, microwave, or broil until cheese is melted.) Another version is meat ball sandwiches with some marinara sauce and cheese on hoagie rolls. To keep it on the healthier side, I always use ground turkey and sausage and it's still very yummy and lower fat than beef.

Rotisserie Chicken Recipes

For my freezer meals, I usually buy a couple rotissere chickens from Sam's or Walmart, shred the meat and use some in various dishes. For how much time it saves, I don't think it's that much more expensive than buying and cooking yourself. Maybe some of you know...

Some things I use the chicken in: pot pies, tacos or taco salads, bbq chicken pizza, maybe chicken soup in the winter, etc. It goes a long way. Throw the bones in a big pot and cover with water. Boil 30 minutes (with or with out some veggies like carrot, onion, celery), then skim out the bones and you have chicken stock for soups, sauce, etc. No need to buy the convenient cartons! It freezes fine in ziplock bags...

So here's some of the recipes-

Chicken Pot Pie:

OK - not super healthy but I figure if eaten in small doses and supplemented by other healthy stuff it's ok. It's one of our go to meals becuase Tui loves chicken pot pie. Believe me, this is the healthier version than what I made before! Baby steps...


2 C. cooked chicken
1 large can (32 oz?) mixed veggies
2 regular cans (15oz) or one big can cream of chicken soup
pepper to taste
2 frozen deep dish pie crusts
1 box premade, rolled pie crust (2 crusts)

Allow rolled pie crusts to come to room temperature, according to box. Combine chicken, veggies, soup and pepper. Pour into frozen deep dish pie crusts, dividing between the two. Top each pie with a rolled crust, crimping edges to seal. Cut four slits in top. Wrap tightly in plastic, top with foil. Freeze. Makes two pies.

Cooking instructions:

-Allow pie to thaw in fridge overnight.
-Remove plastic, replace foil. Place on cookie sheet
-Bake in 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until crust is cooked through (another 15-20 minutes). You can vary cooking time by adjust oven temp.

My family usually eats one pie per meal. We'll have fruit or a salad with it.



Tacos, Nachos, Taco Salad (what ever variation you like, it's basically the same ingredients)

shredded chicken (can cook with some taco seasoning, some spices like garlic, cumen, thyme, or just plain)
shredded lettuce
diced tomato
cheese
corn salsa (frozen corn that's thawed but still cold, cilantro, lime juice - yum!)
guacamole or fresh chopped avacado
tortillas (we make our own baked chips for nachos: slice tortillas into 8 pie sections, spray cookie sheet with cooking spray, layer a single layer of tortilla slices on pan, spray top side of tortillas with cooking spray, lightly salt, bake under broiler until brown and crisp, flipping in between if needed.)
creamy cilantro salad dressing or ranch


BBQ chicken pizza:

shredded chicken
sliced red onion
cheese
cilantro, if you have it
bbq sauce
pizza crust (I'll post a recipe later that can be frozen and used for this. I've read that you can also prepare the whole pizza and freeze at the point just before baking. I haven't tried it but I'm sure it works!)


Chicken soup:

Use your homemade chicken stock, add veggies and simmer until soft. Add shredded chicken. Salt and pepper to taste.

Freezer Meals

So this year, we've been trying to cut our food budget. I've found that one thing that has really helped is for me to make freezer meals, instead of buying pre-made frozen meals like bertolli's, etc. We were in the habit of using those a few times per week because they were so quick and convenient and everyone here loves pasta. It's also cut down on the eating out because there's already something for dinner so we don't run out and get something or go out to eat. I have to thank my friend Shelly for introducing me to the wonderful world of freezing. Thanks Shelly G.!

Yes, it takes more planning on my part. Yes, it takes more work on my part. Yes, it saves us money - like hundreds. First of all, none of it goes to waste because there's very little left overs (I'm not a big left over fan. If you are, just make more food). I portion things out into what we will really eat. Sometimes it's a whole recipe, sometimes it's half, sometimes it's 2/3 of a recipe for when the whole family is home and 1/3 for when Tui's out of town. Second, I make multiple meals with the big ticket item (the meat!), instead of eating it all for one meal. Third, you could shop sales and save even more, making meals according to what's on sale (I'm not there yet but it's a good idea).

Please keep in mind good freezing procedures. It's a waste if the food goes bad before you can use it because of bad packaging or sanitation. Lots of good info on the web. Maybe I'll post about it later or one of you are welcome to!

So, about twice a month, I figure out which meals I want to make, do a big shopping, cook a bunch of meals and freeze them. It's a lot of work but only 2-3 times a month. Every other day is great! I pull out a dinner the night before and there's almost no prep for dinner.

If I'm really good, I plan the week ahead by seeing what I have in the freezer and picking sides and veggies to go with. Then, I just have to buy fresh produce, milk and snacks that week.

So a lot of the recipes I post will be freezer friendly and include those instructions. If you don't want to prepare as a freezer meal, they don't have to be. They're good fresh too! But you might want to try it - you'll like it. :)