Italian Spaghetti and Meatballs

"He that can have patience can have what he will." ~Benjamin Franklin 


Man, is this ever true.  Life has been pretty good to me, and in retrospect, I believe that it's partly due to the fact that I have always had enough patience to wait for the right people, the right timing, or right ideas to come to me.  This isn't to say that I have been completely passive over the years... I've worked hard, I've pursued my goals and dreams, but if I hit a roadblock, patience was always the vehicle that found the necessary detours to bigger and better things. 


For those of you who follow this blog, you know that I lost my job at the end of the last school year.  After seven years with the same district, I was another victim of our depressed economy.  Once the pain and shock wore off, I set my mind to finding and beginning the next chapter in my life.  I told myself that I had fulfilled my purpose for this period of time, and that now must be the time for me to help other students elsewhere.  Never have I claimed to be a follower of any particular religion, but I do believe that there is a Plan for all of us; and if we are patient enough, we will all hear the calling we are meant to hear. 


(Suuuuurre.  It's easy for me to say this now. But when I was interviewed, then subsequently denied, by several other districts, it wasn't very easy to sit back and wait for the Plan to happen!) 


As it turned out, I did land another teaching job, one that is very different than my old experiences.  But it's a new beginning with fresh new faces, philosophies, and challenges; one that has given me more opportunities to mentor young adults and share my love of reading, writing, and learning.  Patience persevered again. 


So to celebrate patience, here's a simple (yet time-consuming) recipe that has landed a permanent spot in my recipe box.  All good things come to those who wait, and you will have a delicious meal (or three!) if you're willing to wait a couple of hours for dinner. 


Source: allrecipes.com


Ingredients


Sauce: 
1/2 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. olive oil
2 (28oz.) cans whole, peeled tomatoes
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 bay leaf
1 (6oz.) can of tomato paste
3/4 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper


Meatballs: 
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 c. bread crumbs
1 T. dried parsley
1 T. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 egg, beaten


Directions:


For the meatballs-- 


1.  Combine all ingredients and mix well with hands. 
2.  Separate and roll into 12 large balls. 
3.  Refrigerate (covered) till needed. 


For the sauce-- 
1.  Saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat till onion is translucent. 
2.  Stir in tomatoes, salt, sugar, and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil. Reduce to low, simmering for 90 minutes. 
3.  Stir in tomato paste, basil, pepper, and meatballs.  Simmer another 30 minutes. 


Verdict: Keeper! 


This is one of those meals you can make on a Sunday and reheat multiple times for quick meals on busy weeknights, because the flavors blend so well over time.  


If I change anything, I may try Italian breadcrumbs instead of the plain.  

Ranch & Bacon Pasta Salad and Italian Pasta Salad

Hello readers! 


(That is, if I still have any readers... )


The last couple of months have taken their toll on me.  In April, I learned that my position within my district was being eliminated, and that after seven years of service, I would be unemployed for the upcoming school year.  Needless to say, I was not only heart-broken, but completely unprepared for all the impending job-hunt would entail.  Like Time.  The amount of time I have spent rewriting my resume, filling out applications, checking online recruiting databases, and crafting well-thought responses to the written components of applications really surprised me... which is one reason I haven't written to you in so long.  


But the other reason I haven't blogged recently is more emotional than anything.  Truth told, I think I've been working through a sort of depression that I haven't experienced before.  These last few months have been very foggy for me.  My determination, ambition, and creativity were replaced with apathy and insecurity in all aspects of my life (which includes the kitchen!) 


Thankfully, I have had a few interviews in these early weeks of summer, and this simple fact has done wonders for my outlook.  And this has led me back into the kitchen-- which is good, because I have a cookout celebrating a friend's birthday coming up, and I needed to get crackin' with a side dish or two to share. 


Ranch & Bacon Pasta Salad 
(Modified from allrecipes.com) 


Ingredients: 
1 box of bow-tie pasta
1 1/2 c. light ranch dressing
1 c. mayonnaise
1 bunch of green onions, chopped (I included the scallions as well) 
1/2 pkg. grape tomatoes, halved
1 lb. bacon (cooked, drained, and crumbled) 


Directions: 


1.  Cook pasta according to directions. Drain, and set aside to cool. 


2.  In a large bowl, combine ranch, mayonnaise, green onions, and tomatoes. After cooling the pasta with running water, add to large bowl and mix thoroughly.  


3.  Before serving, add bacon crumbles to top of the dish.  Serve chilled. 


Verdict: Keeper, with revision


I am CRAZY for creamy pasta salad, so this was a hit for me.  But I think I can do better.  Next time, I might try using a ranch-dressing season packet mixed with mayo (instead of the dressing) to see how it affects the overall flavor.  Also, I might try using pre-cooked bacon crumbles, just to see if the time saved is worth it compared to the flavor of real bacon. 


Italian Pasta Salad


Ingredients: 


1 box of tri-color pasta 
1 small can of black olives, sliced
1 pkg. cheese cubes
1/2 red onion, chopped. 
1 bottle of Italian dressing (I used Kraft Zesty Italian)


Directions: 


1.  Cook pasta according to directions on box. Drain and rinse with cool water. 


2.  In a large bowl, combine red onion, olives, cheese, and pasta.  Mix well.  Stir in Italian dressing.  


3.  Refrigerate a few hours or more before serving.  


Verdict: Keeper


My friend (the birthday girl/hostess of the cookout) asked me what dressing I used because she liked it so much.  This style of pasta salad instead my favorite-- but since it's kind of a "standard" pasta salad, I'll use this in the future when feeding others who want Italian pasta salad.   

Pasta Fagioli

I love my Freezer.

This is only a recently developed relationship.  It has only been within the past year that I have truly come to embrace and utilize this under-appreciated half of the appliance.

You see, the Freezer was the Black Hole of my childhood kitchen.  Once something was placed in the freezer, you could forget it. It was gone-- if not forever, at least long enough that you would wonder how long it had been in there when you did see it again.

Chicken breasts that were on sale and required buying them in bulk? Forget about those for another year. 

Pork chops that we could grill out?  Forget about those for at least a couple of months.  

A gallon of ice cream? Well, we never let that get too far out of sight:)   

(Right now, my Mother is reading this and cringing, or laughing, because that's exactly how it was. Sorry Mom! :))

Now that I'm cooking for The Mr. and myself, we often have leftovers.  I will eat leftovers for days and days, until it is all used up.  The Mr., on the other hand, will only eat leftovers for 1 or 2 days before he begins to worry about food poisoning.  There would be recipes that would make so much food we couldn't finish it all before we'd have to throw it out. 

I. Hate. Throwing. Away. Food.

Enter the Freezer. Once I realized that many recipes' frozen/reheated leftovers tasted as good as the first time, I fell in love.  Some soups and chilis taste even better than the first time.  This revelation changed my whole outlook on recipes yielding 8 servings or more.  Now, on days when I don't feel like doing anything, I can pull something out of the Freezer, heat it up slowly on the stove, and dinner's ready. 

Seriously people, that's about as close to food-magic as it gets.

Tonight I reheated Pasta Fagioli, a recipe I tried about a month ago.  As expected, it was (magically) as good as it was the first time.  Just another reminder of why I love my Freezer so much.

Source:  Crockpot Tuesdays (slightly altered, since I don't like to measure veggies)

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef, browned and drained
1/2 large red onion, chopped
2-3 carrots, chopped
2-3 celery stalks, chopped
2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups beef broth
1 jar (16.5 oz) pasta sauce
2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup dry pasta (to add at end)

Directions:

Brown the meat and drain well. Set aside

Combine all ingredients EXCEPT PASTA in the CrockPot.  Stir.

Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours (or HIGH for 4 hours). At end of cook time, stir in 1/2 cup pasta. Cover and cook for another hour on LOW.

Serve with parmesan, mozzarella, or any other kind of cheese you like.  Enjoy!

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Never have I ever made macaroni and cheese.

I tried to make Baked Macaroni and Cheese one time.  It's been so long ago that I almost forgot about it.  It was a recipe from a Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, and I remember doubting myself (and the recipe) as I was making it.  Tasting it confirmed all my suspicions; neither onion nor breadcrumbs belonged in Macaroni and Cheese.  

Since then, I have been on the lookout for a Macaroni and Cheese recipe that would fit my specific requirements in order to be tested.  Disappointment abounded during those years, since every recipe I found had ingredients that I was hoping to avoid.  Have you ever tried to search Mac and Cheese recipes?  It's harder than you think to find one without onions, breadcrumbs, cottage cheese, ricotta, heavy cream, or cream-of-something-gross soup!

Then one day, I found it.  The one. The ingredients? Pasta. Butter. Cheese. Milk. Salt and Pepper.  Perfect! Thank you, Jesus! Or, more specifically, thank you Melissa from Lemons and Love.

This has been bookmarked for several months-- but today was the day.  It's baking right now, and I can't wait! :)

Source:  Inspired by Lemons and Love (slightly modified)


Ingredients: 

16-oz. box of elbow macaroni
16 oz. Velveeta, cut into cubes
16 oz. Shredded Monteray Jack/Mild Cheddar blend (I prefer to use two 8 oz. bags instead of one big bag)
1 stick butter, quartered (Then, each quarter gets sliced into smaller pieces)
1 c. milk (I used skim because that's what we drink)
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven for 325 degrees.

2.  Cook the pasta according to directions on the box.

3.  In a baking dish (I used a Pyrex 8x10), evenly distribute a quarter of the butter pieces.

4.  Layer in half of the cooked pasta.  Follow with half of the Velveeta, then 8oz. of the shredded cheese blend, another quarter of butter pieces, and salt and pepper. 

5.  Repeat last step.

6.  End the last layer with butter pieces on top. Pour milk evenly throughout the whole dish.  

7.  Bake at 325 for 45-60 minutes, till cheese is bubbly and browned in some spots.

Make-Ahead Tip:  Do everything listed above EXCEPT adding the milk.  Cover and refrigerate.  The day you choose to bake it, let the dish come to room temperature, add the milk, then bake as directed. 

Verdict:
I can barely type.  I'm in food coma.  :)

Upon sampling the new recipe, The Mr. informed me that I will be required to make this at least once a week :)  As much as I enjoyed this, we'll have to see about that...

Fake-Baked Ziti

For Valentine's Day, I wanted to make something rich for The Mr.  He loves pasta-- add cheese and sausage, and I've got a happy husband.  So, I went skimming through my Allrecipes.com recipe box and found the perfect one.  Baked Ziti!  Yum!

Made the list.
Clipped the coupons.
Went to the store.
Got a migraine.

::::insert sad sound effect from The Price is Right:::::

While at the store (and ready to throttle a couple of kids screaming for no damn reason whatsoever) I couldn't find ziti pasta.  Anywhere.  I must have looked a little helpless standing in the pasta aisle for 5 minutes, pacing the shelves in search of a pasta that now I'm SURE doesn't even exist! By the time I got home, my stomach was beginning to feel nauseous (as a result of the headache) and all I wanted to do was lie down.

So I did.  And The Mr. bought take-out for the two of us.

Fast forward to this evening-- We enjoyed our Valentine's Dinner one day late (and one major ingredient off) but it was a wonderful dinner nonetheless.  So what if I used rigatoni?  Fake-Baked Ziti was a hit!

Now... if all those dishes would wash themselves... THAT would be a great Valentine's Day gift! :)


Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta (But you already know I used rigatoni for this one)

1 pound mild Italian sausage

2 (24 ounce) jars marinara sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil, divided

12 ounces ricotta cheese

1 1/2  teaspoons Italian seasoning, divided

1 dash salt and pepper

1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.



2.  Cook sausage in a skillet over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.

3.  In a large saucepan, heat marinara with 1 teaspoon basil until bubbling. In a medium bowl, mix together ricotta, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.


4.  Spread bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with sauce. Begin adding layers

• 1/2 of the ziti (or rigatoni, in my case),
• 1/2 the sausage,
• 1/2 of the ricotta mixture,
• 1/2 the mozzarella.
• Spoon half of the sauce over top. Repeat layers.

Note:  Since the rigatoni ended up to be rather large, I used the largest baking dish I had... which was a 10" x 14"Pyrex dish. 

5.  Sprinkle top with remaining 1/2 teaspoons basil and Italian seasoning.

6.  Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes.

Verdict: Keeper!

And next time, I hope to use real ziti pasta!  :)

Also, I may get adventurous and add some onion and garlic to the sausage mixture, just to kick up the flavor factor.  But as it is, this is a yummy addition to the recipe box