Baked Ziti

Béchamel Sauce

2 Tbls butter

2 large garlic cloves minced

2 Tbls four

2 Cups whole milk warmed

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups finely grated parmesan cheese

Red Sauce

1 Tbls olive oil

1 ounce pancetta (optional)

2 Tbls tomato paste

40 ounces of my Traditional Red Sauce

1/4 cup basil shredded

Other ingredients

1 lbs dried Ziti noodles

1 lbs fresh mozzarella cheese ball cut in large chunks

1/2 cup parmesan cheese finely shredded for the top of the pasta at the end

Instructions:

Boil ziti noodles in salted boiling water for 8 minutes. Strain and add a little olive oil to cool.

Bechamel sauce:

in a large pan melt butter on low, when melted add garlic. Cook a few minutes, don't burn.

Add in Flour, stir and cook a few minutes on low to cook out the flour taste, 

Slowly whisk in a little of the warm milk, whisking at all times  until all the milk is all in and  combined and no lumps. 

Add salt and pepper to taste, boil then light simmer for 8 minutes until thickened. 

Take off the heat and add the 2 cups parmesan cheese. Mix until melted. 

Pour in a large bowl to cool.

Red Sauce:

In the large sauce pan cook pancetta with 1 Tbls olive oil until brown. Drain and set aside.

In same pan, cook the tomato paste in some of the pancetta oil, until blended and cooked 1 minute, 

Add some of the traditional red sauce to blend with the tomato paste.

Take off heat, Add all the red sauce, pancetta, paste and basil to large bowl.  

Let cool completely if you are going to cook it later. Or just assemble and cook. 

Assemble:

Preheat stove to 350 degrees

Spray a 9x13 pan with pam.

Mix the ziti pasta, béchamel sauce and large chunks of mozzarella in a large bowl.

Put some red sauce down on the bottom of the 9x13 pan. Save 1 cup for the top of the pasta. 

Add some pasta béchamel sauce mixture on top and repeat until all the red sauce and pasta is used up, except for the 1 cup of red sauce. 

Top the pasta with dollops of 1 cup of red sauce and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes if cooking right away until bubbly,

Broil at the end for around 4 minutes.

If you will bake it later from refrigerator:
Cover dish with an oiled piece of aluminum foil and refrigerate.  When ready to serve, bake covered at 400 degrees for 30 mins.  Then, uncover and bake an additional 20-30. minutes or until sauce is bubbling around the edges and ziti is heated throughout.
You can broil the last 4 minutes to brown the cheese.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Chicken Sausage, Kale, Gruyere Cheese Quiche

9 inch deep dish frozen crust (you can make your own)

1 cup shredded gruyere cheese (or any kind, I had gruyere to use up)

Kale, sliced thin to cover the cheese maybe 1/2 cup (or spinach)

Onions, finely diced around 2-3 Tbls 

5 chicken sausage links, that were precooked and frozen, I thawed in microwave and diced. 

(I got these chicken links frozen from Costco. Use any links or ham or bacon, make sure they are cooked)

6 eggs

1 1/2 cup heavy cream or whole milk

salt and pepper to taste (you can add a splash of hot sauce or Cheyanne pepper)

optional: I added some feta cheese crumbles on top of the eggs for a salty tangy flavor because I had some in my refrigerator.

preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Take deep dish out of freezer, add shredded cheese, kale, onions, sausage in the shell in that order. You want the cheese on the bottom. 

mix the eggs and heavy cream in a large bowl. add salt and pepper.

Pour egg mixture over cheese, kale, sausage. 

add feta on top if you want.

put on a cookie sheet lined with tinfoil.

bake for 45 mins until middle set. 

Let cool before cutting.  

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

3 cups cooked diced or shredded chicken

1 can (10 oz ) cream of chicken soup

6 cups chicken stock

1 cup whole milk or 2%

1/2 cup sliced celery

2 large carrots sliced

1 packet (1oz) ranch dressing mix

1/2 cup cream cheese

8 ounce little pasta ditalini

1 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded

Add to a large soup pot the first 7 ingredients.

Boil then simmer for 25 minutes. 

Add in pasta and boil until almost done. 

Add in cheese. 

Take off the heat and enjoy.

make your own cream of chicken soup
https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/condensed-homemade-cream-chicken-soup-recipe/

make your own ranch seasoning mix
https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/homemade-ranch-seasoning-mix/

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Creamy Beefy Noodle Soup

2 Lbs beef chuck roast (I didn't weigh mine but I am guessing it was around 2 lbs)

1 can 14 oz beef broth

1 envelop beefy onion soup mix 2.2oz

1 can cream of mushroom soup 10.5oz

3-4 cloves garlic minced fresh

2 large carrots sliced

1/2 cup sliced celery

6 cups beef broth

4 oz cream cheese block

salt and pepper to taste

8 oz dried small pasta

1 Tbls dried parsley (you can use fresh but I usually don't have any on hand)

(My beef chuck roast was frozen so I added it to the instant pot with 1 can of beef broth and pressure cooked it for 10 minutes. I quick released the steam when it was done. )

if not frozen:

I added to the instant pot the roast, 1 can (14 oz) of broth, onion soup mix, cream of mushroom soup, fresh minced garlic to the instant pot. 

I pressure cooked this for 30 mins. 

I quick released the pressure.

I took the roast out and shredded it. 

Add the shredded beef back to the pot and ADD IN the carrots, celery and 6 cups of beef broth, cream cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

I pressure cooked it for 15 minutes. 

I quick released the pressure.

I turned the instant pot to saute.

I added in the dried pasta and dried parsley. 

leave the lid off and boil the noodles until almost done per the package. 

Stir and enjoy!

PS: you could probably add in 8 ounce mushrooms.

You could use barley instead of pasta.
or:
1 cup uncooked wild rice instead of pasta


make your own Liptons onion soup
https://fountainavenuekitchen.com/lipton-onion-soup-mix-copycat-recipe/

make your own cream of mushroom soup
https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/condensed-homemade-cream-mushroom-soup-recipe/

PRINTABLE RECIPE