quick ziti supper

I cannot believe that I haven't posted anything here since Mother's Day. lol. Well, there was that stint on the other blog, where I cheated on myself - there were a few foodie posts there. ROFL

Maybe one of these days, I'll transfer those recipes over to here. :)

But for now, I have a different objective in mind. I've watched my daughter grow up with a mixture of pride, love, happiness, and...dread. She's 19 1/2 now and talks about moving out one of these days. Sigh. I don't know what I'll do without her around here, she's sunshine in the mornings, yes, even those mornings when she's a bit of a grouch.

I started thinking about how she likes to cook, but she really hasn't had much time for a lot of learning or experimenting. She's a very good baker. :)  But for supper dishes, she's not had many experiences so far. I thought it might be nice to post some basic recipes now and then and she can check in here for some of our favorites when she needs to.  Especially when she gets tired of canned spaghetti sauce, ramen noodles, and rice (which she CAN cook LOL).

Quick Ziti Supper

Sauce:

1/2 large onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 - 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, cooked and drained

1 can tomato sauce

5 roma tomatoes, diced

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Pour about 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy pot, and heat on medium high; add chopped onion and saute for 1 minute. Add chopped garlic and dried herbs and saute for another minute.  Add cooked ground beef, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes and stir well; season as desired with salt and pepper. Let this simmer for about 10-15 minutes on medium low heat.

In the meantime, fill a large pot with water to within 2 inches from top, and add 1 teaspoon of salt. Heat to boiling on high heat, then add a box of ziti (serves 8) and stir well. Reduce heat to medium and cook at a low boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain carefully into a colander in the sink.

Add the shredded cheeses to the sauce mixture and stir until melted and blended. Turn off the heat. Add the hot drained ziti pasta to the sauce and toss gently until it's all mixed up.

If desired, top individual servings with fresh grated parmesan or percino-romano cheese (my favorite).