Baked Ziti

What to fix when you've just gotten home from work and you want something good, hot and with a minimum amount of effort? Baked Ziti fits the bill on all three counts. And if you're like me, chances are you have all the makings in your cupboard and fridge.

Here's what it takes:

16 ounce box of ziti
26 ounce jar of spaghetti sauce
1 jar-full of water
2 C shredded cheese

Okay, I can hear you asking, "What brand of spaghetti sauce? What type of sauce? And the cheese...Cheddar? Mozzarella? Can it be the stuff already shredded and in a bag or does it have to be a block of cheese that I grate and measure?" Here's the good part: Use what you have.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Take a 9 X 13 inch baking pan. Dump the dried ziti into the pan. (No, no, do NOT cook the ziti first. Dump the ziti uncooked straight from the box.) Pour the spaghetti sauce into the pan and add one jar-full of water into the pan. Stir to mix. Add most of the shredded cheese, reserving 1/4-1/2 cup of cheese. Stir to mix. Bake in pre-heated oven for 35 minutes. Top with remaining cheese and bake for another 5 minutes for a total time of 40 minutes.

Serve with a salad and possibly garlic bread.

See? Simple, hot, good and with at minimum amount of energy. What could be better for an after-work dinner?

Rainy Day and homemade cinnamon bread

It's a rainy, dreary day, which means staying inside and cooking something that takes more than five minutes to throw together.

Tonight, I'm cooking spaghetti. Nothing exciting about that; tonight's sauce is store-bought and heated. But the homemade bread...

This is a white bread with cinnamon sugar baked right in. It makes three loaves.

EGG CINNAMON BREAD

2 envelopes yeast
1 C warm water
1-2 T honey
1 C milk
1/2 C margarine (1 stick)
2 eggs, beaten
6-7 C unbleached white flour
1/4-1/2 C margarine (1 stick)
2-3 C cinnamon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Stir honey into warm water. Stir in yeast. Set aside.

Heat milk until warm. Pour into large bowl and add 1/2 C margarine, cut into 4 pieces. Stir, allowing margarine to melt. Cool to room temperature. Stir in salt, yeast mixture and eggs. Add flour, 2 cups at a time until stiff. Place dough on floured towel and knead for 4-5 minutes.

Wash and dry bowl. Oil dough, place in bowl, cover with clean towel and place out of draft in a warm place. Allow to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until double.

Melt 1/4-1/2 C margarine. Grease 3 loaf pans. Punch dough down, then divide into three sections. Roll out with rolling pin, then brush with melted margarine. Spread cinnamon sugar over melted margarine, then roll all three sections into loaves. Place in pans, place clean towel over pans, and allow to rise again for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Remove towel, then place loaf pans into preheated 350 degree F oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Someone's in the kitchen with Robin...

There are things in this life that we need to survive: Air. Water. Food. Shelter helps, as do family and friends. But without air, water and food, survival just ain't happenin'.

Unless one has breathing problems or no access to clean water, most of us don't think of air or water. But food...We think of it, discuss it with friends and family, consider everything about it. The tastes, textures, colors, recipes...What's not to consider?

If you've posted or lurked on bulletin boards, chances are you've found threads dealing with food. Facebook discussions frequently drift toward food. One recent discussion several friends of mine and I had dealth with clam chowder: red vs. white; the irony of using canned when several of us live very close to the coast; to add salt or not...which then drifted to weird sandwhiches using salt, tons of mayo and who-knows-what-all.

What is our obsession with food? Well, again, we do have to eat. What we eat (and don't eat) can affect our health. And there's the whole cultural food thing: Grow up in the Northeastern U.S., chances are you've had Cream of Wheat and oatmeal for breakfast, while Southerners know that grits are king.

So...stick around. I plan to post recipes, food stories, an occasional food fact...Anything food related. Feel free to comment, share, post...Pull up a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy!