Working Mom Dinners

Being a working mom is hard. When I come home my work day is far from over. I have to master feeding the family. Because eating out is expensive and not so healthy and the process of going to get food takes away time that I could enjoy relaxing at home with the twins. So I am starting another “topic” to this blog which will include easy, fast recipes you can prepare with in 30 minutes or recipes that can be prepared the night before and tossed into the oven the next day. As a home ec teacher a lot of this comes naturally to me, but as a new mom planning out easy not so over the top meals is something I am learning! I am spending time browsing the internet and reading through my stack of cookbooks to discover my favorites. I will document them here to hopefully help others and to keep track of our favorites.

This dish, Baked Ziti, can be prepared the night before. This dish takes about 20 minutes of prep time which includes boiling noodles and browning ground beef. Then an additional 30 minutes to bake dish. The total recipe time is roughly 1 hour.

Mrs. McMunn’s Baked Ziti

·         1lb ground beef

·         1 box of Ziti noodles ( I usually use 3/4 of a 16oz box)

·         1 jar of spaghetti sauce (I prefer tomato and basil)

·         ¼ cup of diced onion

·         1 minced garlic clove or a teaspoon of garlic salt

·         2 cups of Mozzarella cheese

·         1 cup of Ricotta Cheese

·         1 cup of Parmesan Cheese

Like spicy? Add ½ teaspoon of crushed red peppers.

·         In a pan pour a small amount of olive oil. Add onion, garlic, and crushed red peppers (if like spicy) sauté for 1 minute then add 1 pound of group beef, brown.

·         Boil noodles following packet directions

·         In a bowl combine 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and spaghetti sauce. Mix together and then add ziti noodles and ground beef.

·         Transfer the pasta to an oiled 9 x13 inch baking dish. Cover the top of the pasta with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

·         Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

The best part of this dish is that it feeds my family for two nights. So you can eat it later in the week or you can freeze for the future (it freezes well). Or have it for lunch. Or have friends or family over for dinner.

Yum! I serve this with a garden salad.

XoXo,
Heather