Comforts of home

My husband is officially out of Afghanistan air space and on his way home. What a relief. It's been a long year and frankly, I've not been hungry or feeling great for most of it. I haven't really had a reason to cook large family meals and that is one of my favorite things to do. I love cooking while the boys and Alex play in the background. Both boys aren't big eaters in general and I've been turning to oatmeal, soup and yogurt quite a bit. 

Alex requested his first meal- my baked ziti. I've been making this for years and it never fails to satisfy him. Now granted he is a cheese addict but I do like my version too. Since Alex left, the boys and I have made an effort to eat clean, real unprocessed foods and as organic as possible. This also means full fat dairy products, the less fat you have, the more processed and chemicals you find. Here is how I have cleaned up our favorite family meal-

If cooking it for a meal now, preheat oven to 375.

-1 lb of your favorite ziti, whole wheat preferred. I do have a pasta machine. I do not have the time currently to make my own put plan to once Alex gets back.

- 24 oz of marinara, organic. I like the Wegmans jarred version or again, make your own. It's not hard and if you have a big enough pantry, make enough for the winter with your summer tomatoes!

-15 oz ricotta, organic

-2 cups Italian cheese, grated. Using mozzarella and provolone today.

-1/4 cup chopped parsley

- 1 organic egg

- then I guesstimate the following; salt, oregano, garlic, red crushed pepper flakes, black pepper

- 3 tbs grated Parmesan

- 1 lb organic sausage. Fully cooked. I used al fresco chicken with peppers.

Cook pasta until tender, about ten minutes in a low boil. Drain and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, I do the following. Using a large mixing bowl, mix everything in with the exception of one cup of the marinara, a handful of the fresh grated cheese and the Parmesan cheese. It makes a pretty pink sauce between the cheeses and tomato. See pic below.

One clean eating tip- grate all of your own cheeses from whole blocks. The grated bagged cheese? Full of chemicals. Why else does it last six months? Also, real cheese is white. Plain and simple. There are no orange cows. Just chemicals.

Now that it is mixed up, I take half the cooked pasta and stir it in. Then after that half is well coated, add the remainder. And by the way, when I said a large mixing bowl, well, now you see why.

I take the bowl and spread it into a rectangular baking dish. In fact, I always use the same one for two specific dishes, which he has requested both this week. It's a pretty blue dish I got on clearance from target at least ten years ago when I first moved to DC on my own. I love a good deal and this one has been worth the low cost. Ok, this is where those three ingredients we pulled out come back into play. First I take the remaining sauce and pour three long rows. Then I just cover it with more delicious cheese.

Put some foil on and dinner is almost ready. In your preheated oven of 375, let this cook through for about thirty minutes. When you peel back the foil and see it bubbling, remove foil and let it go for just another five to get a nice crisp on top.

The positive of this dish include the fact that you don't need to cook it right away. Mine is in the fridge for dinner tomorrow night because I know I won't have time between now and then to make it. You can also freeze it for max 6 weeks. When I freeze ahead, I definitely Saran Wrap, plus foil. Even better if you have a top to your baking dish.

Tomorrow night our menu will also include a meat lasagna, garlic Caesar salad, garlic and mozzarella bread and a welcome home cake from a local bakery. And I can't forget baked Brie and mini beef Wellington appetizers to start. The husband loves his rich creamy cheese and a heros welcome of cheese he will get. Both sets of parents and my siblings will be over so I wanted to make sure I had enough for all to eat. As you will see, it's not all an organic homemade dinner and that's all right. I'm balancing our family's lifestyle and special occasions are exactly that. The baked ziti recipe is good for ten people. Another reason I love it is it feeds us 4 for days and it's hearty, good for a cold winters night which with the howling wind outside, is perfect. And while I wrote this, my twenty month old just ordered a movie on demand. Time to call the cable company....sigh. Happy Sunday!