Three Cheese Baked Ziti with Spinach

Here's another wonderful recipe from the Campbell's Kitchen. I LOVE baked ziti past with cheese. Can't wait to try it with spinach!

Three Cheese Baked Ziti

with Spinach

1 package (16 ounces) uncooked medium tube-shaped pasta (ziti)

1 bag (6 ounces) baby spinach, washed (about 4 cups)

1 jar (1 pound 9 ounces) Prego® Marinara Italian Sauce

1 cup ricotta cheese

4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup)

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• Prepare the pasta according to the package directions. Add the spinach during the last minute of the cooking time. Drain the pasta and spinach well in a colander. Return them to the saucepot.
• Stir the sauce, ricotta, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese, garlic powder and black pepper into the pasta mixture. Spoon the pasta mixture into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.
• Bake at 350°F. for 30 minutes or until it's hot and bubbling.

Serves 6.

Garden Vegetable Lasagna

I found this recipe on the Campbell's recipe website. It sure looks yummy!

Garden Vegetable Lasagna

1 container (15 ounces) ricotta cheese

8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (about 2 cups)

2 eggs

4 medium carrots, shredded (about 2 cups)

1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and well drained

9 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained

1 jar (24 ounces) Prego® Chunky Garden Combination Italian Sauce

Grated Parmesan cheese

• Mix ricotta cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, eggs, carrots and broccoli in a medium bowl and set it aside.
• Place 3 lasagna noodles in greased 3-quart shallow baking dish.Top with half of the vegetable mixture and 1 cup of the sauce. Repeat the layers.Top with the remaining lasagna noodles and remaining sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Bake at 400°F. for 30 minutes or until it's hot and bubbling. Let stand for 10 minutes. Serve with the Parmesan cheese.

This serves 8 (about 1 1/4 cups each) with 321 calories per serving.

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

Last night I went to Fabulous Fourth Friday's launch event. It was wonderful! Ashlee Kozel, owner of The Dandy Lion Boutique, made these fabulous desserts for us to eat while we watched a small fashion show. She baked the cupcakes in mason jars to celebrate Mardis Gras and the night's theme. Really! Mason jars. The cupcakes were so moist and yummy. I wonder if she has any left? LOL

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup boiling water

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed of mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water. Batter will be thin.

Pour batter into prepared pans.

For CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups with paper bake cups.

Bake 30-35 minutes.

Ashlee baked her cupcakes in the mason jars, without paper bake cups. Then she added a wonderful frosting -- but she didn't share that recipe. It was yummy white with sprinkles on top.

Pear Bread

A funny thing happens when you're faced with a large pear tree and lots of really small pears. Yeah. You guessed it. You start baking things you've never ever tasted before. That's okay. I'm thrilled to have the pears. I love to eat them. More importantly, this particular tree got its start from my Gran's pear tree. The tree means a lot to me because it reminds me of the wonderful times spent at her house. Oh, and the bread's pretty good too!

Pear Bread

3 eggs

1 ½ cups sugar

¾ cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups peeled, cored, finely chopped pears

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla. Mix well. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Stir into the egg mixture just until moistened. Don't overblend because that will make it dry.
Toss pears with lemon juice. Stir pears and pecans into batter. The batter will be really thick.
Spoon the batter into two greased bread loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Pear Cake

There are many thoughts that cross a person's mind when she is staring at three buckets of pears. Desperation. Determination. And a frantic search for pear recipes.

Most folks immediately think of canning pears, especially the hard pears like we have. But why can something we're not going to eat? I could always make a cobbler. And I will before the pears are gone. But I really wanted to make a cake. I'd made a cake with apples. Why couldn't I make one with pears?

I didn't know how it would end up. But the entire kitchen smelled wonderful as it baked in the oven. I served it warm. Wonderful! Moist and delicious. Seconds, please!

Pear Cake

4 cups peeled, cored, chopped pears

2 cups white sugar

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

4 egg whites

2/3 cup Crisco oil

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine pears and sugar. Let stand one hour.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat 10-inch tube pan with PAM.

Slightly beat egg whites. Add oil, chopped pecans and pear mixture.

Combine flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. Add to the pear mixture. Pour batter into the tube pan.

Bake for one hour and 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let cool on wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Fresh Apple Cake

I found this recipe in the Sherwood Baptist Family Cookbook. The church is in Huntsville. I’ve no idea where I got the cookbook, though a yard sale or auction seems most likely.

This cake was wonderful! Moist and yummy. The original recipe gave an option for a cup of nuts, such as walnuts. I decided against them and I’m glad I did. It’s perfect without them.

I used apples from the garden. I’m not sure what kind they are but they taste really mellow. I don’t think a tart apple would taste as well. The recipe also said to sift the flour. I can’t remember the last time I did that. Just whisk it and you get the same effect without the headache.

Fresh Apple Cake

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups Crisco oil
3 full cups diced apples
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 2/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk (or sift) flour; add all other dry ingredients. Set aside.

Beat eggs and oil until blended. Slowly add dry ingredients. Add vanilla. Fold in apples.

Pour into a greased and floured Bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool in pan for 15 minutes before removing.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Everybody needs a Grilled Cheese Sandwich at some point. There are, of course, different kinds. When I was a kid a cheese sandwich meant two slices of toasted bread and some sliced hoop cheese. Nowadays, I get out the cast iron grill. This sandwich is loaded with calories but who cares? Nothing quite beats the taste.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

1 tablespoon butter, softened
2 slices bread
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread, making sure it reaches all the way to the edges. If you forget or don’t have time to let the butter soften, stick it in the microwave for a few seconds. Just remember you want it soft not melted.

Mound one unbuttered side of the bread with the cheese. Set remaining slice on the cheese, buttered side up, and press together.

Heat large cast-iron grill over moderate heat. If you don’t have a grill, just use a cast-iron skillet. Really the grill is just a skillet without the sides. I’m not even sure it’s called a grill by anyone but me.

Cook sandwich until underside is browned, about 3 minutes. Turn it over and cook until second side is browned and cheese is melted, about 3 minutes longer.

Cut in two and serve.