Cheesy Ziti Casserole

I remembered when I attended Indiana University in Bloomington,  IN that I ordered a cheesy ziti Casserole from the cafeteria and loved it! I thought of my time when I went there and ate that delicious food that I got in the mood to try and make it. This is my original recipe. I came up with it on my own. I hope you will enjoy this delish meal!

Recipe  Serves 6 to 10

1 lb Ground beef
1/2 c. Onion, chopped
1 8oz. Cream cheese
1 jar (24oz) pasta sauce
2-3 cups  mozzarella cheese (depends on how cheesy you want)
1 box (16oz) of penne or ziti

1/8 tsp. Oregano

1/8 tsp. Parsley

1/8 tsp. Thyme

1/8 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/8 tsp. Basil

Dash of black peppers

First, preheat the oven to 350 degree for aluminum/metal based dish or 325 degrees for glass dish. Boil the pasta as directed on the box until soft. Brown the meat with onion seasoned with black peppers in a pan over low-medium.  Once browned, get the grease out by using a colander or paper towel. Cook pasta sauce and cream cheese in a large saucepan over medium. Add all of the herbs into the sauce. Cook until cream cheese is completely melted. This should have a result of orange cream sauce. If the sauce starts to boil, lower the temperature to avoid boiling.

Second, put the browned meat into the saucepan with the sauce and mix it up.  Put some pasta in a 9 x 13 baking dish and pour some of the sauce into the dish and mix well. Do this gradually until you completely mix the pasta with the sauce completely.  Top with mozzarella cheese.  

Thirdly, cover the dish with aluminum foil or a lid. Bake for about 30 minutes, covered. Remove the lid or aluminum foil and bake for another 5 minutes or until the cheese melted. Let it cool for a few minutes then serves hot!

Guacamole

I remembered when I was invited to a Christmas party with my families.  I couldn't think of anything to make for the party but I thought of making taco layers dip. This includes the guacamole in the layers, since i am unsure if the people may like the guacamole so I had it separated. I had to find recipe to make guacamole.   I'm quite picky at how guacamole should taste.  I decided to make it from scratch based on my research on how to make it. It turned out to be very successful and delicious. Most people loved it and wanted the recipe. 

Recipe. Serves 4-8

4 ripe avocados
1 8oz. Cream cheese
Dash of garlic powder
Dash of chili powder

Peel the avocado skin off then cut in half to remove the seed. Mash the avocado well. Add cream cheese and cream together. Add garlic powder and chili powder to the mixture to your suitable taste. Blend well then serve immediately.

This guacamole is not thick, chunky, and mixed with other vegetables.  It is very creamy, smooth, and pure guacamole without anything else other than four primary ingredients. I would not recommend making guacamole the day before because they have the tendency to turn brown fast and it's no good.  To avoid browning, lemon juice will help preserve the guacamole a little bit longer

Make sure the avocados are ripe. It is supposed to look like a dark green, not bright green or too dark that's almost brown. It also supposed to feel soft as you squeeze it. If you can't squeeze it, it's not ripe. If you squeeze it and it's too soft, pay attention to the color because if it is too dark then it is past their ripeness taste.

Mozzarella Zucchini Skillet with Sausage

I received a Campbell's recipe book as a Christmas gift and I looked through the book and found the one that looked very appealing to me so I decided to  make it and throw in something extra to the original recipe.  This is a GREAT dinner meal for people who are trying to watch their calorie intakes. This is also a GREAT dinner meal for people who are vegetarians.  Enjoy!

Recipe serves 7 people (about 1 cup each)

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
5 medium zucchini, sliced (about 7 1/2 c.)
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 c.)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder or 1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 c. Prego Traditional Italian Sauce
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese or cheddar cheese

Heat the oil in a 12-in skillet over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, onion, and garlic powder and cook until the vegetables are tender-crisp. Stir the sauce in the skillet and heat it through. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and cook until cheese is melted.

These ingredients are the very basic foundation of adding multiple vegetables to the dish. The more varieties your skillet have, the more delicious it will taste. However, the more variety of other food  will make it too much to fit in a 12-in skillet so I would recommend cutting down on the amount of zucchini in the skillet and balance it with other food equaling to about 7 1/2 cups in total.  You can add sliced brats or italian sausage, green peppers, mushroom, artichokes, and tons other food to this skillet.  For meats, please brown them before cooking zucchini and remove the meat from the skillet to cook vegetables and return to the skillet right before adding pasta. For vegetables other than zucchini, mix with zucchini and cook together until they are tender-crisp. For mushrooms or artichoke, make sure they are drained completely and then add to the skillet right after the vegetables are tender-crisp and before the pasta sauce is added

This recipe is found in a recipe book and online so here is the link to the recipe at campbell's: http://www.campbellskitchen.com/recipes/mozzarella-zucchini-skillet-25403

Applebee's Garlic Mashed Potatoes

When I went to Applebee's and tried their mashed potatoes for the first time and LOVED it! I wanted the exact recipe so I can make my homemade mashed potatoes more flavorful. I went through several website and found the perfect one that tastes quite identical to the one at Applebee's.

Recipe  serves 4 people

1 lb. red potatoes
1/4 c. milk
1/8 c. heavy cream
1 1/2 Tbsp. butter
1/2. tsp of salt and pepper to taste
1/8 c. garlic

If you want to use the real garlic, place a single layer of garlic cloves on a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil and wrap tightly.  Roast in 400 degree preheated oven for 45 minutes or until soft.  Unwrap and let garlic cool until touchable. Peel the cloves and mash with potatoes when they are ready.

If you want to use the minced garlic from a can, just spread it flat on a small plate and microwave it for 5 to 10 seconds then mix with potatoes.

Wash and rinse potatoes under cold water.  Leaving the skin on or off is up to you.  In a large saucepan, bring to a boil for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and drain in colander.  In pan or bowl, combine potatoes, garlic and all other ingredients and mash with a potato masher or hand mixer.  Keep warm and serve.

The ingredients above will taste great and will taste quite identical to the one at Applebee's. However, if you are tight on budget, but would like to make this, you could eliminate heavy cream and use a little more milk.  It still will taste great.

Eggplant Parmesan

I absolutely LOVE eggplant! They are very healthy and delicious. This will be a great vegetarian dinner that substitute chicken parmesan with eggplant parmesan.  This is the recipe that I came up with on my own.

Recipe serves 4 people

1 medium sized eggplant
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
 1 tsp oregano
1 can (6oz) tomato paste
1 c. water
6 slices mozzarella cheese
3/4 c. parmesan cheese
1/2 c. oil.
1 egg
 1/2 roll of butter crackers

Slice and peel eggplant about 1/2 inches thick. Mix salt and egg. Ground the crackers for coating. Dip the eggplant into the egg mixture, covered in crackers and then fry them in oil pan.  Once cooked, put eggplant in layers with cheese on 9x13 dish or 9x9 dish.  Mix tomato paste, pepper, and oregano.  Pour over eggplants. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes covered with foil. Enjoy!

Chicken Alfredo

Ever since I found the crab alfredo recipe, I love the taste of the sauce so I substitute the crab for chicken.  I tweaked the recipe differently from the original recipe due to the spicy flavor that can be strong and the method of cooking chicken is something new.


Recipe serves 4 people
8oz dried fettucine
1 (8oz) cream cheese2 chicken breasts, cubed

3 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. milk
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp. flour
Dash of salt and pepper
Dash of lemon pepper seasoning
Dash of seasoning salt
Dash of paprika
Dash of cayenne pepper/cajun seasoning
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. parsley flake
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil

Boil the pasta until soft.  Cook the chicken in olive oil. Season the chicken with lemon pepper seasoning, seasoning salt, paprika, and cayenne pepper/cajun seasoning. Once the chicken is done, remove chicken from the pan. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook for two minutes.  Stir in flour, salt, and pepper.  Reduce heat. Stir constantly for two minutes.  Add the milk gradually and then stir over medium heat for 3 minutes.  Add cream cheese, parmesan cheese, and the remaining herbs. Stir until mixture is smooth. Add cooked chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Serves hot.

Crab Alfredo

I got tired of eating the same type of pasta for quite some time so I told my mom that I wanted to try something different for our dinner. I did some research and found this recipe online and tried it. It turned out to be very delicious and spicy, which I liked. I used the same recipe to make chicken alfredo as well. I will post a separate recipe for chicken alfredo.

Recipe  serves 4 people

8oz dried fettucine
3 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. half and half milk
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp. flour
Dash of salt and pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 (4oz) cream cheese
8 oz crab meat, flakes

Boil the pasta until soft.  melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook for two minutes.  Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.  Reduce heat. Stir constantly for two minutes.  Add the half and half milk gradually and then stir over medium heat for 3 minutes.  Add cream cheese and parmesan cheese. Stir until mixture is smooth. Add crab meats and cook for 3 minutes. Serves hot.

I personally use 8 oz of cream cheese and uses milk instead of half and half.  That will make the sauce a bit more creamier.  This original recipe will make the sauce very thick and chunky. I like it to be less thick and more creamy.  I sometime substitute the crab for chicken.  The link to the recipe I found online is: Crab Alfredo