When I was a kid, my dad often referred to me as a lazy, rotten, good-for-nothing. I was highly insulted by this when he said it, but sadly, it's true. If I could change one thing about myself, it would be to actually have some ambition and the self-discipline to get off my butt and DO something once in awhile. (And that's saying a lot because the list of things I would change about myself is LOOOONNNGG!)
Anyway, this past weekend, I decided to get off said touche and get back to cooking. Got off my lazy rump and made Kathy Fiola's Baked Mostaciolli Florentine. Have I talked about Kathy yet? She contributed many, many recipes so I'm sure you'll be hearing about her a lot. Unfortunately, her kids left pre-school and stopped taking piano lessons, so we've lost touch. It's too bad, because she is a sweet, fun, encouraging person with adorable children. AND she has some wonderful recipes!
The Recipe:
Baked Mostaccioli Florentine
1 box Ronzoni mostaccioli rigati, uncooked
1 jar (28 oz.) spaghetti gravy (See? She even calls spaghetti sauce 'gravy!' I love her!)
1/2 cup water
1 pkg. (8oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup milk
1 10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta according to package directions for 7 minutes, drain. In large bowl (I did it right in the spaghetti pot, while the pasta was in the strainer), stir together spaghetti gravy and water, stir in pasta. (I did this next step while the pasta was cooking)In medium bowl, stir (I used the mixer) together cream cheese and milk until smooth; stir in spinach and parmesan cheese. In a 14 x 9 inch baking dish, spoon one-half pasta mixture. Spread cream cheese mixture over pasta; spoon remaining pasta mixture on top. Cover with foil; bake 30 minutes. Remove foil; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Yield: 7 servings.
Can I just say yum to the nth degree!?!? Hubby and I are both in love. We ate more than we should have on Sunday night and then had it for leftovers again last night (with ceasar salad and garlic bread - hello, heaven!). The sad part is, I thought it would be a fun dish to make with my oldest crazy, but I also owed her a trip to Toys R Us. I let her choose cooking or shopping and she chose shopping. Poor mommy and daddy. They really missed out!
P.S. A very, very similar version of this recipe is on the side of the Mostaccioli box. I assume that's where Kathy got it and then maybe tweaked it? Oh, and also, I was excited to buy mostaccioli rigati 'cause I've never had it before. Yeah, it's pretty much ziti. On the upside, you can use whatever pasta is on sale or on hand and I'm sure it would be just as good!
Next up: Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. The question: When will she get around to it..........?
4 comments:
That sounds really, really good!
I was telling Jamie recently that I'm going to start being really laid back about everything. Because I'm lazy, but if I just start being super laid back all the time, people will just say, "Oh Tara, she's so relaxed and chill all the time." Which is way better than, "Oh yeah Tara, she's a psycho about her schedules and RSVPs, but she's kind of a slob." And I figure it's much easier to stop caring about everything than to start being industrious.
Aw, I think you're good for a lot of things!And see you're keeping up with your quest! You didn't quit after one or two recipes. I am very proud of you! With love from your big sister :-)
MY MOM HAS A BLOG!!! So, I was totally looking at Tara's blog even though I knew she hadn't changed anything when I saw "NOT Julie and Julia." I thought, "Hey! I just saw that movie! I wonder if someone's copying her, how fun!" So, I clicked on it. I then read the "about me" part and thought, "Hey, my mom has four kids and two grandkids. AND she's been married for like the same amount of time. Weird! If it wasn't a different kitchen in the picture I'd be suspicious." Then I looked at the picture and shouted, "THAT IS MY KITCHEN!!" followed by "MY MOM HAS A BLOG!!" It's a very exciting discovery! And I can't wait to see what you write next! I'm sure I'll be joining your cooking escapades sometime soon!
Love you!
P.S. I thought you should know that the first thing that gave away that it was our kitchen was the Chick-Fil-A cows. I thought "who else would have 8 cows on their window sill?"
I tried this recipe today. It's another keeper. Love you, Mom
Post a Comment