Still here, still behind, but not giving up!

Hi, everyone. Here I am again. I'm so behind, but I am getting better. I have posted several things on my creative writing blog in the past couple of weeks, but haven't been cooking much lately, so didn't really have much to say here. Money is tight right now, so I haven't made anything requiring more than a few ingredients. I made tacos two days ago - I had tortillas and shells on hand, had plenty of hamburger and a pack of taco seasoning in the pantry. I had also bought some cheddar on sale recently, so had the cheese, too. I sent a message to my daughter so she'd bring home lettuce and tomatoes. I put some French fries in the oven (I know - they don't really go with tacos, but I wanted something else) that I had seasoned with Parmesan cheese and steak seasoning. I haven't made tacos in years, if ever, so I wasn't sure what to expect from the taco seasoning, but it wasn't at all what I had expected (I expected something sharply bitter from the chili powder). I was happy with it. I was happy I had the fries, though, because it just didn't seem like enough. My daughter, though, was happy with just tacos. 

The original recipe from Plain Chicken blog

Right now, I'm thawing chicken broth to make another batch of mac-n-cheese from the no-boil recipe I posted a while back. I love it!! I never have creme cheese on hand, but have had sour cream that I used instead and it turned out perfectly fine. This time is no different, other than I'll have to shred the cheese myself. That's OK. It's really good cheese. I'd like to get some sharper cheddar, but I'll use what I can afford to buy and this was on sale for $.99 for 8 ounces. That's $2/pound - a good price by any standard.


I have gone out a couple times with friends recently and had some pretty good food. A week ago, a friend from Utah was here for a brief visit and we all went to a local diner. They were impressed by the quantity of food that came for the price. I'm pretty sure they ate their leftovers for breakfast since their flight was scheduled for the next morning. But, I had ordered "steakhouse" chops because it sounded pretty good. The kitchen instead cooked breaded pork chops, but that was OK since I like them, too. And, they were really quite good, not at all greasy, and definitely moist inside. I couldn't eat both of them, so I brought one home that my daughter ate.

An example of Vegetarian Thali

Earlier that day, my guy friend and I had eaten lunch at an Indian restaurant next to the Starbucks he likes. Because their lunch specials were close to ending, we ate before getting coffee and I had the non-vegetarian Thali (a "sampler" meal that gives a little taste of several different dishes all on one tray). My meat choices were Chicken Tikka Masala (a creamy tomato curry) and Lamb Curry as well as Dal Mahkani (lentils), Basmati rice, Raita (a yogurt cucumber sauce that reminds me of Tzatziki sauce), papadam crisps and Naan bread. Other than the Raita, I love all of it!


Then, this past Wednesday night, the same friend decides to go to another Indian restaurant where he had seen a sign for AYCE buffet for $9.99. He stopped by after his class, which is unusual, so it was at least 9PM when we got there. They were pretty busy, too, because that day was the Hindu Festival of Lights and many families stopped by after they attended whatever services or festival they attend for the holiday. The main waiter told me they hadn't expected many customers because of the holiday, and he was apologizing for how noisy it was (kids running and playing, one screaming, which I can live without), but it was interesting how apologetic he was. Then he explained how he used to work for a restaurant in Florida and most of his customers were non-Indian, where up here in New Jersey, most of the customers were Indian. I kind of got the feeling that he thought that bothered me, which it didn't. It just means their food is genuine when those who grew up on it flock to enjoy it. It was more the decibel level I had a problem with and that wouldn't matter WHO was causing it. But, I enjoyed the food and will be looking forward to going there again for their weekend buffet sometime in the future.


At the moment, I am straining the chicken broth that is finally thawed to remove the bits of seasoning and vegetables my daughter had added to it when she made her soup. I don't think they'll work well in the mac-n-cheese. At the very least, they'll alter the appearance, I think, to something not so pleasant to look at. Not that I have the proper strainer. I'm using a colander lined with paper towels. LOL Ya gotta do what works!


That's about it for today. I hope to be posting more often, even if not every day. I know I've said that before, but honestly - I mean it! They've predicted snow (IN OCTOBER) for the weekend. As much as I hate the summer heat, I'm definitely not ready for snow! LOL Stay warm!!

No Boil Baked Ziti (actually, Rotini) DELICIOUS!!!!!

I recently tried a recipe for No Boil Macaroni and Cheese that turned out pretty well other than it was a bit too al dente. It's still worth it because I'll just add more liquid the next time I make it.

But, I had a box of tri-color rotini in my pantry I wanted to use along with some ricotta, shredded mozzarella and spaghetti sauce. I went looking for a recipe for no-boil rotini, but wasn't successful. However, I did find a recipe for no-boil baked ziti that I decided to try figuring my pasta would replace the ziti approximately one-for-one.


My problem was that my box of rotini was 12 oz and the recipe called for eight ounces. Plus, my rotini seemed smaller in diameter than ziti would be, so I wanted to be sure what came out of the oven wasn't too runny or too thick and that the pasta was cooked all the way through.


Holy cow! What I got turned out to be the BEST baked pasta I'd ever had!! I've had some that the ricotta seems to dominate and the pasta sauce gets lost. I've had others that add nutmeg to such a degree that it isn't just an accent, but a primary flavor. I was hoping to avoid either one of those extremes. 

One of the ways I tried to do that was to add some additional spices to the mixture to keep it from being too cheesy. Fortunately, I was successful. 

Now, I'll share with you the recipe I used with notes showing what changes I made and where. I really think you'll be pleased with this recipe. It takes only five minutes to prepare!

The thing I liked best was that it didn't heat up the whole house. There was heat from the oven, but if I had done both boiling water and the oven, it would have been very uncomfortable. Since we don't eat in the kitchen, this worked well for a summer meal.

No Boil Baked Ziti

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Bake Time: 60 minutes
Serves: 8

1 26 oz jar pasta sauce (I used a can of Hunt's meat flavored)
1 1/2 cups water (I added more water, maybe 1/2 cup or so)
15 oz ricotta 
1/4 cup grated parmesan (I left this out - just sprinkled some on top near the end)
2 cups shredded mozzerella
8 oz uncooked ziti (I used 12 oz of tri-colored rotini which is why I added more water)

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Combine sauce and water.
Stir in ricotta, parmesan, and 1 cup mozzerella.
Add uncooked ziti. (I also added about 1/2 tsp each of Italian and Pizza spice blends.)
Spoon ziti mixture into 13x9" baking dish.
Cover with foil and bake 55 minutes.
Remove foil and sprinkle with remaining mozzerella. (This is when I sprinkled the parmesan, too.)
Bake uncovered for 5 minutes.