Baked Ziti with Meat Sauce and Béchamel

Baked Ziti with Meat Sauce and Béchamel

I made this recently just in time for an unexpected houseful of people. It was divine. I love pastitsio but some of the kids don't like the usual spices used in it so I compromised and used the standard Italian meat sauce.

The Béchamel usually forms its own layer atop everything, but my pan wasn't big enough so it all sort of settled together. It was just as good that way!

Baked Ziti with Meat Sauce and Béchamel
Printable Recipe
Serves: 8
Ready In: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 pound ziti - cooked and kept warm
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic - minced
2 cups prepared marinara or other tomato based spaghetti sauce
4 cups milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 355 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9 x 13-inch baking pan and set aside.

For Meat Sauce:

1. Brown ground beef with onion and garlic until no longer pink. Drain excess fat.
2. Add sauce and stir well. Set aside.

Make the Béchamel:

1. Heat milk until just hot and set aside.
2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat and add flour. Stir until smooth and cook several minutes.
3. Pour milk into roux in a thin stream and whisk constantly until milk starts to thicken.
4. Whisk eggs until light and add a cup of hot milk sauce to them and stir briskly so the eggs do not cook.
5. Pour into milk and roux and continue cooking until sauce is thickened.
6. Add nutmeg, salt and 1 cup shredded cheese and stir until cheese is melted. Use to assemble immediately.

Assemble:

1. Pour 1 cup Béchamel into ziti and stir well. Layer ziti in the bottom of the prepared pan.
2. Spread meat sauce over ziti and level with a spoon.
3. Pour remaining Béchamel over the top and spread evenly over all to cover completely.
4. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned on top.
5. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Pumpkin Granola Muffins

Pumpkin Granola Muffins 

Maple sugar and I have a love-hate relationship. For the most part, I love it, but in certain applications, I just can't do it. Flashback to childhood when an adult would approach with a box full of chocolates and offer one. We all know, thanks to Forrest Gump, "...you never know what you're gonna get". Now, some companies have markers for their chocolates, either in the form of a swirl or lines added to the top of the coated candy to clue you in as to what's in them, or they have a "map" on the inside of the box that corresponds to the layout of the chocolates.

I don't recall knowing either of those tricks as a child, so I would take what looked pretty or good and then be completely shocked, often times pleasantly so, but sometimes not so pleasantly. It was that way with the maple flavored candies. One bite and I was struggling to find a place to spit out the candy and dump the uneaten half (we all eat them in two bites ... admit it).

That is one instance in which I decidedly do not like maple sugar. Add maple syrup to pancakes, waffles, French toast, bacon, sausage etc. and I'm in heaven. Breakfast is not the same without it and I know most people feel exactly the same.

My other favorite is in granola, but I always felt as thought I were adding an inferior sugar without much nutritional value when I topped or added it to foods. Imagine my surprise when I found that is not the case. Maple sugar is very full of trace minerals, antioxidants and very good things. Look at this information from the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association.

Maple Syrup Nutritional Information

Fact Sheet

• Maple syrup contains an abundant amount of naturally occurring minerals such as calcium, manganese, potassium, riboflavin and magnesium.
  
• Maple syrup is a natural source of beneficial antioxidants, which have been shown to help prevent cancer, support the immune system, lower blood pressure and slow the effects of aging.
  
• It’s more nutritious than all other common sweeteners, contains one of the lowest calorie levels, and has been shown to have healthy glycemic qualities.
  
• Researchers have found that pure maple syrup contains numerous phenolic compounds, which according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information play an important role in cancer prevention and treatment.
  
• Phenolic compounds are also commonly found in plants and in agricultural products known as “super foods,” such as blueberries, tea, red wine and flax-seed.
  
• During a recent study at the University of Rhode Island, 34 new beneficial compounds were discovered in pure maple syrup.
  
• Additional research is being conducted to synthesize some of these compounds into medications that could fight fatal diseases, including diabetes.
  
• For more information, please visit http://vermontmaple.org 

Good stuff, yeah? On to the recipe for Pumpkin Granola Muffins using one of my favorite granolas Earthbound Farm's Famous Maple Almond Granola, which incorporates maple syrup. Yum. 

Pumpkin Granola Muffins
Printable Recipe
Makes 24 standard sized muffins or 12 large

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1 c white sugar
1 c brown sugar
l can pumpkin (15 oz.- about 2 cups)
3/4 c vegetable oil like canola
3/4 c olive oil
1 t vanilla
3 c flour
2 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
l t ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
l t salt
2 cups granola - divided (Earthbound Farms Famous Maple Almond Granola is perfect here) 

Directions: 

1. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oils until smooth.

2. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt-add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Fold in 1 1/2 cups of granola. 

3. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full and top with a sprinkling of the remaining 1/2 cup of granola. 


4. Bake at 400 degrees F for 16 to 20 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

German Chocolate Icing

German Chocolate Icing on Gooey Brownies

My oldest daughter is very fond of coconut and loves German Chocolate Cake. This year for her birthday I did a riff on that and topped a gooey brownie with German Chocolate Nut and Coconut Icing. The result was to-die-for!

Choose any brownie you like or use this to ice a full two-layer cake. That means this covers a 9 x 13 pan of brownies with a little left over. I also think this would be just right for Valentine's Day.

German Chocolate Icing
Printable Recipe
Makes about 3 cups

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs, beaten well
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans, walnuts or almonds - traditional is pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat then add sugar, evaporated milk and eggs.

2. Whisk together and cook and stir constantly until thickened. This can take 10 minutes to achieve. You must keep stirring so the eggs don't become scrambled eggs rather than a thickener.

3. Remove from heat and stir in nuts, coconut and vanilla until well blended. Cool for 30 minutes before adding to cooled cake or brownies.

Ravioli Lasagna

Ravioli Lasagna

We are mere days from yet another snow storm in Pennsylvania and I've packed the refrigerators and pantry out with as much as I could fit in. The freezers are full to overflowing and in the event that we lose power, we still have a gas stove and the food can all go to the attached garage, which is quite chilly these days. I think we'll be safe and snug no matter what.

This is something I've been making for quite some time and never got around to writing down or sharing. I guess I felt it was so easy that the name was sort of self-explanatory. The ravioli cover the pasta and ricotta element of lasagna so all you need is a hearty meat sauce and mozzarella to complete the delicious picture.

See if this doesn't become a tried-and-true favorite for busy nights in your home and those days when warming your tummy helps to warm your whole self.

Ravioli Lasagna

Ravioli Lasagna
Printable Recipe
Serves 8-10
Ready In: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

3 pounds large round cheese ravioli
1 pound bulk Italian sausage (I used hot) or any ground meat you like
3 cups pasta sauce (whatever you like)
2 cups mozzarella cheese (I also add 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan sometimes)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease a baking dish - 9x13 or 8x11 is good.
3. Brown sausage in a skillet and drain grease if necessary. Add sauce and cook until heated through.
4. Lay out half of the ravioli in the bottom of the prepared dish.
5. Top with half the sauce and half the cheese. Repeat the second layer.
6. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before cutting.

Winter Greens and Ham Salad

Winter Greens and Ham Salad

Leftover holiday ham gets a fresh new spin with this winter salad. Each ingredient is available throughout the winter months and the combination of sweet and savory with a crunch is delicious. Change the pecans to any nut you like and alter the sweetness of the dressing with more or less honey.

Winter Greens and Ham Salad
Printable Recipe
Hands-On Time: 15 minutes
Ready In: 15 minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

4 cups torn romaine lettuce
2 cups baby arugula
8 ounces cooked ham - leftover preferably cut into thin strips
1 cup jicama strips
1 medium pear cut into thin slices
1/2 cup toasted pecans
1/2 cup bleu cheese crumbles
1 cup orange juice
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Toss romaine and arugula together and portion out between 6 plates.
2. Top with ham strips, jicama stips, peear slices, pecans and bleu cheese.
3. Stir together orange juice, balsamic vinegar and honey until well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste and pour over salads before serving.