Creamy Baked Ziti

Creamy Baked Ziti
1 lb ziti, uncooked
1- 26 oz jar marinara sauce
1- 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
6 oz [light] cream cheese, softened
3/4 c [light] sour cream
2 c shredded [skim] mozzarella cheese, separated
1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 325*.
2. Cook pasta in unsalted water in a large pot; drain.
3. Place marinara sauce, tomatoes (with liquid), and cream cheese in the pot and stir frequently over medium heat until cream cheese melts and the mixture is well blended.
4. Return pasta to pot and stir to coat.
5. Place half of the pasta in the bottom of a 9x13 pan; layer sour cream, half of the mozzarella, and the rest of the pasta. Top with Parmesan and remaining mozzarella.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, or until heated all the way through.
*You can cover and refrigerate before baking; bake for 30-40 minutes, or until heated through.

Ali's Fresh Tomato Soup

Ali's Fresh Tomato Soup
5-6 medium tomatoes
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 c broth (chicken or vegetable)
2 T butter
2 T flour
2 t salt
2 t sugar

1. Roughly chop tomatoes and onion; place chopped vegetables, garlic, and broth in a large pot.
2. Cover, bring to a gentle boil, and let boil for about 20 minutes, until vegetables have softened.
3. Remove from heat and use an immersion blender, or food processor or blender, to puree vegetables.
4. Make a roux with the butter and flour*, then slowly incorporate it in to the soup.
5. Season with salt and sugar; serve warm.
*Melt butter and then gradually stir in the flour.

Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Soup

Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Soup
2- 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 c diced celery*
1 c diced carrots*
1 c diced onions*
4 c broth (vegetable or chicken)
1 t oregano
1 T basil
1 bay leaf
1/2 c butter
1/2 c flour
1 c Parmesan cheese
2 c warm half & half
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Place tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, broth, oregano, basil, and bay leaf in a large slow cooker; cook on low for 6-8 hours.
2. About 45 minutes before you plan on serving, melt butter in a pan and add flour; stir until well mixed. This is called a roux.
3. Slowly add a cup of the soup to the roux; add more soup until the roux is well incorporated.
4. Add roux mix in to slow cooker; stir in cheese, and half & half.
5. Cook on low for another 30 minutes before serving. Salt and pepper as desired.
*Cut all vegetables about the same size so that they cook at the same rate.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

I got this yummy recipe from my sweet sister. Enjoy.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
6 T butter
3 carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
1/2 stalk celery, diced
1/4 c flour
1 1/2 c half & half
6 c chicken broth
2 t thyme
3 c cooked chicken
2 c uncooked egg noodles
salt and pepper, to taste

1.In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat and then add vegetables. Cook for about 8 minutes, until veggies are soft.
2. Stir in flour and mix well; add half & half, broth, thyme, chicken, and noodles. Stir well.
3. Turn heat up to high and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until soup thickens and noodles are soft, about 10 minutes.
Feeds 6.

Carrot Soup

Carrot Soup
1 onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 lb (about 10) carrots, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1- 32 oz box vegetable (or chicken) broth
2 c water
2 T brown sugar
1 1/2 t ginger
2 T heavy whipping cream
1/4 t salt
3 T instant potato flakes (opt for thicker soup)
cashews (opt)
cilantro (opt)

1. Place onions, garlic, and carrots in slow cooker; add broth and water.
2. Cook on high for 4 1/2 hours or low for 8 hours.
3. Stir in brown sugar, ginger, cream, salt, and potato flakes.
4. With a blender, food processor, or immersion blender, carefully puree until you achieve desired consistency.
5. Garnish with cashews and/or cilantro.
This entire recipe is only 464 calories!

Calzone

Calzone
Dough-
2 1/2 t (1 pkg) yeast
1 1/3 c warm water
1/4 c olive oil, plus more
1/2 t salt
4-5 c flour
Filling-
marinara sauce
meats (pepperoni, sausage, ham, chicken, etc)
veggies (olives, mushrooms, peppers, onions, jalapenos, etc)
herbs (basil, oregano, Italian seasoning, etc)
cheese (Mozzarella, Cheddar, Parmesan, etc)


1. Using stand mixer with dough hook, dissolve yeast in water; add oil, salt, and 2 cups of flour; beat until smooth.
2. Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until it forms a soft dough; knead on low for about 10 minutes until dough becomes smooth and elastic.
3. Place dough in a greased glass bowl and turn once so dough gets greased as well; cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 400*.
5.Punch down the dough and halve it; lightly grease, or line with foil, one (refrigerate/freeze half of the dough for later use) or two cookie sheets (halve the dough and perform steps 6-10 for each calzone).
6. Roll out into a large rectangle on a lightly floured surface; transfer to cookie sheet and turn lengthwise.
7. Spread enough marinara sauce to just cover the middle third of the dough with about 1/4" or less of sauce; layer meats, veggies, herbs, and cheese.
8. Rotate sheet 90* and cut slits in the dough from the outer edge in to the sauce, stopping about 1/4" from the sauce; rotate sheet and repeat for the other side of the dough [slits|filling|slits].
9. Rotate sheet 90* so that it's lengthwise again and braid dough slits like you're lacing up a shoe (one side across filling and then the other, repeat, repeat, repeat); pinch the ends to seal them.
10. Brush calzone with olive oil and sprinkle on some more herbs, if desired.
11. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown; place on cooling rack to cool.

Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread Cookies
6 T butter, softened
3/4 c packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 c molasses
2 t vanilla
3 c flour
1 T ground ginger
3/4 t baking soda
1 1/2 t baking powder
2 t cinnamon
1/4 t salt
1/4 t allspice

Icing (opt):
1 c powdered sugar, sifted
1-2 T milk
food coloring, opt

1. Cream butter, sugar, and egg with an electric mixer on low; add molasses and vanilla and mix until combined.

2. Sift together flour, ginger, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and allspice. Fold dry ingredients in to butter mixture and mix on low until just combined.

3. Remove the dough from the bowl, halve it, and wrap it in plastic wrap; place in fridge for an hour.

4. Preheat oven to 350*; line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
5. Let the dough sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes until pliable. At this point you can either roll out the dough and cut it out with cookie cutters or roll in to balls, roll those in sugar, and press down with a fork (like peanut butter cookies) before baking.
6. Bake for 10 minutes, until edges just begin to brown; transfer to wire racks to cool.
7. To make the icing, combine the powdered sugar and milk. Divide the mixture into different bowls and dye as desired.