Cheesy Baked Pasta

For an easy meal (this is one you can do on a week night), I often will make a cheesy baked pasta. I vary ingredients every time, but the below is a pretty standard version. 

INGREDIENTS

1 pound of pasta (I used a whole wheat pasta that I bought in bulk at Whole Foods)

1 pound of ground turkey (or chicken or beef, whatever your preference)

2 tablespoons of diced basil

2 teaspoons of oregano

2 teaspoons of garlic salt

3 1/2 cups of marinara sauce (I used a vegetable marinara sauce—I did not make my own)

1 pound of fresh mozzarella, half cut into 1/2-inch cubes and half grated

3/4 cup of freshly grated Parmesan, divided

1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1.       Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2.       Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously, and boil the pasta until al dente, tender but still slightly firm. Drain.

3.       While the water is boiling, brown the ground turkey. Add the basil, oregano and garlic salt to the sauteing meat.

4.       Toss the cooked pasta with the cooked meat, the marinara sauce, cubed mozzarella, and half the Parmesan cheese, and black pepper.

5.       Transfer the pasta to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish (spray with cooking spray prior to this).

6.       Cover the top of the pasta with the grated mozzarella, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.

7.       Bake until lightly browned and hot, about 30 minutes. 

This is really good served with garlic bread. 

Snickerdoodles

One of Andy’s favorite cookies are snickerdoodles. I thought they would be fun to make with Alex, as he could roll the cookie into the cinnamon sugar mixture. It turns out, Alex liked these just as much as Andy. They are super easy and always a crowd pleaser!

I tweaked the recipe I found to the one below, but the original recipe can be found here.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup of salted butter, softened

1/2 cup of butter flavored vegetable shortening

1 1/2 cups of sugar

2 medium eggs

2 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons of cream of tartar

1 teaspoon of baking soda

2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons of sugar

DIRECTIONS

1.       Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2.       In a large bowl, combine the butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups of sugar and the eggs; mix thoroughly with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy and well combined (one to two minutes). Sift together the flour, cream of tartar, and baking soda, and stir into the shortening mixture.

3.       In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar with the cinnamon.

4.       Shape the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls (1 tablespoon per ball), and roll each ball in the cinnamon-sugar.

5.       Arrange the dough balls two inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake until the edges of the cookies are set but the centers are still soft (eight to 10 minutes), rotating the sheets halfway through.

6.       Transfer the cookies to wire racks for cooling. Repeat with the remaining dough.

A Family Announcement: We’re Expanding

I took the last week of blogging off, mostly because Andy started a new job and was in training all week…in another state. As a single, full-time working mom for the week, my nights were better spent sleeping because I have been tired recently—tired because we have a new addition coming in February of next year.

We were a little shocked about the timing, but excited nonetheless. Now that I am 16 weeks pregnant, we wanted to share our joyous news!

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

The other weekend when my mom and sister were in town, I decided to make my sister’s favorite breakfast: chocolate chip pancakes. She has loved this breakfast ever since she was a child. I think Alex may take after her in this regard.

I did amend my standard recipe a bit, by adding a handful or two of white chocolate chips to the mix—I wasn’t sure how they were going to turn out, but they were fantastic! The white chocolate made them a touch sweeter and a little more decadent. 

INGREDIENTS

2 cups of Original Bisquick™ mix

1 cup of milk

2 eggs

½ tablespoon of vanilla extract

1 bag of chocolate chips

½ bag of white chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1.       Heat griddle or skillet over medium heat; spray with olive oil or cooking spray.

2.        Stir all ingredients until blended. Pour by about 1/4 cup onto the hot griddle.

3.       Cook until edges are dry and middle starts to bubble. Turn; cook until golden.

Trip to Michigan: Birthday Celebration and Golf Outing Awards

While in Michigan, we celebrated all the summer birthdays (with a focus on the three turning 50 this year). 

Craig and Christin also gave out awards for the golf tournament—they ranged from most improved to loudest on the golf course to brightest shirt. 

Presenting the winning team. 

The winners of the overall tournament—team Bandanna—holding the grand prize: their lovely belt.

Aaron, part of the winning team, is showing off his trophy. 

The mod squad got pirate patches to match their attire. They were trying to look mean—not a very intimating bunch of pirates. 

Uncle Ed was voted as best mascot. 

Olivia receiving her award. 

Alex won the award for best hat—he got some bubbles, which he was thrilled about. 

Alex also discovered the organ that I was fascinated with as a child. The fascination continues on to another generation. 

This was the last night of our trip to Michigan. The next day, my family drove home early, but Alex and I were able to stay for the Sunday brunch before catching our plane back to New York (with a brief layover in Minneapolis). It is always so great to visit Michigan and a little sad to leave—I wish our extended family lived a closer to us. Thanks for a great weekend!!

Trip to Michigan: Annual Golf Outing

My Aunt Janice and Uncle Jack host an annual golf outing for the family every year—this was the first year that we were able to participate. The game is best ball, so everyone hits the location of the best hit. 

I was a little nervous because 1) I had a toddler with me; 2) I haven’t golfed in about six years. So, it was decided that I would watch Alex while my other team members golfed.

When we got to the first tee, though, my mom, who was driving the golf cart for us, turned to me and asked if I wanted to go instead of her. I decided to try it. I was a little nervous teeing off, but the golf outing was so laid back and fun that it didn’t really matter I wasn’t a superb golfer—it was about the company more than anything. 

My dad and Alex taking some practice shots prior to the tournament. 

This year, each team had a different theme—this was team blue. 

 The mod squad. My sister was also a part of this team, but was being taking photos as well.

Skittles and face painting (I think). 

The camo team.  

Team Tigers. 

We were the superhero team. Alex got a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle hat, which he pretty much wore the entire rest of our time in Michigan. He loved it!

Here I am teeing off—my first shot in six years. 

Christin’s turn. 

Check out Mike’s form—his back hurt at the end of this tournament for carrying us throughout. 

Matt’s turn.

We spotted Team Tigers as we were golfing. 

Joey teeing off. 

Alex decided that he wanted to get in the action. My mom got him a set of plastic golf clubs that he wanted to take with him everywhere in Michigan. 

Exhausted from all the golfing. Good thing Busza is there. 

It was a really fun outing! We didn’t win (we think the winning team actually cheated, but that is a separate story). Hopefully, we can make it an annual tradition for our family to be there—next time, though, hopefully Andy, the only real golfer in our trio, will be able to attend!