Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Baked Ziti and the snack monster

Today was my second day of work and it went really well. I figured out all of my computer issues and started reading up on my first project! I can't wait to dig in!! I must say, I really enjoy my new office because there are lots of amenities. Two of my favorite freebies at the new office are a water cooler (yayy cold water) and a really funky coffee machine that makes all sorts of different flavors.

I went to the gym again this morning, so my afternoon was pretty free! I came home and put together a new routine for Turbo Kick tomorrow. Unfortunately, I also was a snack monster this afternoon! I was longing for dinner, but was waiting for Josh to complete his gym trip for the night before I ate :( For dinner tonight I made a little bit of an indulgent dish- baked ziti. I pulled the recipe from this wonderful blog.

Ingredients
10 oz ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan or romano shredded cheese
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 egg
1 lb ziti pasta (I used whole wheat)
1 jar tomato sauce

Directions-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bring large pot of water to boil, add
pasta & boil for about 3 or 4 minutes, not too long, just to get it a
little cooked. Drain.

Blend together (using hands, spoon, spatula, whatever you have around)
ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup of the shredded mozzarella,parm, spices and
egg.

Pour about 1/3 of the tomato sauce into the bottom of the glass pan,
and add 1/2 of the pasta. Spoon 1/2 of ricotta mixture on top, being sure to spread it out
evenly to cover the pasta. Pour another 1/3 of the tomato sauce on top, add the rest of the
pasta, spreading evenly, and then the final layer of the ricotta
mixture. Pour the final layer of tomato sauce, and spread the rest of the
mozzarella generously on top.

Cover with aluminum foil & bake for about about 45 minutes. Remove
foil, and continue baking for another 15 minutes, or until cheese is
browned around the edges & bubbling.

14 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

A water cooler AND a coffee machine?? Score!! Glad that work is continuing to go well!!

Erica said...

hahahahah...I use to work for a smaller company :)

HangryPants said...

I could not stop snacking today, either.

Samantha said...

Yeah Turbo Jam!! I am a total addict. I would love to be an instructor - how many classes to yu teach per week.

Jenn said...

Oh YUM. What a good way to celebrate your new fun job!

Anonymous said...

Hi Erica,

I just found your blog and already love it! Would you mind if I add your blog to my blogroll?

Thanks,

Foodie

carla said...

I need to get an office job.

Or teach my Tornado to make a starbucks run ;)

Erica said...

Hangry- those snacky days are the worst...

Sammie- You should totally do it! The number of days a week I teach varies. Right now I'm primarily teaching at 1 gym (due to all the craziness going on with us trying to move) so I usually teach between 2-4 days a week. I always teach at least 1 turbo kick and 1 body step class a week.

Jenn- Yes - it was perfect :)

Foodie- Of course! Thanks for reading:)

Carla/Mizfit :)- hahaha, I'm totally teaching my kid how to make me coffee when I have one :)

Erica said...

Hangry- those snacky days are the worst...

Sammie- You should totally do it! The number of days a week I teach varies. Right now I'm primarily teaching at 1 gym (due to all the craziness going on with us trying to move) so I usually teach between 2-4 days a week. I always teach at least 1 turbo kick and 1 body step class a week.

Jenn- Yes - it was perfect :)

Foodie- Of course! Thanks for reading:)

Carla/Mizfit :)- hahaha, I'm totally teaching my kid how to make me coffee when I have one :)

Becca said...

I have a feeling today is going to be a snackie day for me...oh well.

Glad the new job is going well, what is it you are doing?

Anonymous said...

Mmm I love baked ziti! And that recipe is pretty straight forward, too. Even I could handle it (I think)!

Glad work is going well :o)

Erica said...

Becca- I do engineering and cost analysis....its so exciting that if I told you more about it you'd probably fall asleep :)

Jenn- Give it a whirl- I used a knife to spread the ricotta mixture!

Anonymous said...

WOW! That looks so cheesy and delicious!!

Lori said...

Hi erica,

Thanks for visiting my blog! I'm really enjoying the recipes here. I'm lookng forward to reading more. I see from your profile you have a bulldog. I love bulldogs! I've got a pug and I'm crazy about her.