baked ziti

This is one of the first recipes I ever wrote on my own when my husband and I had just moved to New York City. It was 2009 and he was rewatching The Sopranos for the second of many times. From what I wold overhear, Carmella always seemed to be making ziti for Tony, so I decided to try my hand at it for Al.

In our tiny (and I mean tiny) Morningside Heights apartment, I cooked up this homemade meat sauce on a Sunday afternoon, learned that more ricotta is always a good thing, and surprised the heck out of Al. I still get all sappy whenever I have meat sauce simmering on the stove. It makes me think of our first home together and me cooking away the weekends while Al studied. Some of our best times.

This is a great dish for new parents or a housewarming gift. I’ve found that people crave a home cooked meal in the middle of moving and nothing fuels nighttime newborn feedings like pasta and cheese. It freezes well, but more often I deliver it assembled, but not baked and write heating instructions on top to let them decide when to eat the goodness.

Since it takes quite awhile with the homemade meat sauce component (you could totally used jarred sauce but that is way less impressive and fun), I usually make this on a Sunday, letting the sauce simmer while I do all the Sunday things and pop it in for a comforting family meal. I also ALWAYS double it when I make it to keep one for ourselves and give one to someone else.

If you need to serve up a big old bowl of love for your people, this is it.

Baked Ziti with Homemade Meat Sauce

Hands On Time: 30-45 minutes

Hands Off Time: 4 hours ( 3 hours for sauce, 1 hour for baking)

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Italian sausage, casings removed (or you could us any ground meat. when doubling the recipe I’ll do 1 lb. hot Italian sausage, 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage.)

• 1 onion, diced

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes (when doubling I use the big 28oz can)

• 14.5 oz. diced tomatoes, undrained

• 6 oz. tomato paste (one small can)

• 6 tablespoons water

• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

• 1 teaspoons dried parsley (rub it between your hands when adding to the pot to release the flavor)

• 1 teaspoons dried basil (again, rub it between you hands when adding to the pot)

• 1 teaspoons dried oregano, divided

• 1 pound (16 oz) dried ziti or rigatoni pasta

• 15 oz. ricotta cheese

• 1 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

• 1/4 cup grated reduced fat Parmesan, divided

• 1 egg

• salt

• pepper

Directions:

1. In a large pan ( I use my largest dutch oven), cook the sausage until brown. Drain and set aside on a paper towel-lined plate.

2. Back in your dutch oven, add onion and garlic over medium heat. If you don't have enough fat from the sausage left in the pan, add a little olive oil first. Cook a few minutes until softened, a bout 5 minutes.

3. Stir in crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, basil, and half of the oregano. Add the meat back to the pot. Stir to combine. (When doubling this recipe this is usually the moment when I realize I need a larger pot. I often cook this all in my big stock pot so it fits and I can stir without spilling.)

4. Cover and simmer for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. (You could make this ahead of time and refrigerate and use it on any pasta. Just heat it up a bit before making your ziti).

5. During the last half hour of meat simmering time, cook the pasta to al dente.

6. In a small mixing bowl, combine ricotta, 1 C. mozzarella, 2 T. Parmesan, egg, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

7. Spray a 13" by 9" baking dish with cooking spray. Layer in some of the meat sauce, just enough to lightly cover the bottom of the pan. Next add a layer of pasta, then another layer of sauce, and then a layer of the ricotta mixture. I spoon the ricotta mixture in little dollops across the top and try to spread as best I can without disturbing the meat sauce. Add in another layer of pasta, sauce, and ricotta mixture. Top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella, Parmesan, and oregano.

8. Cover with foil and bake at 350 F for 1 hour or until heated through. (Or cover and refrigerate or freeze. Before cooking frozen ziti, allow time for it to thaw and come to room temperature).

9. Remove the foil and pop it under the broiler for a few minutes (watch it closely so it doesn’t burn!) for that bubbly cheesy goodness.

It’s a labor of love, but so worth it. Trust me!

chicken noodle casserole

It seems as if I only post recipes that are either for the slow cooker or casseroles and that’s because those are both make-ahead dinners that I actually have time to photograph and share. Most nights it is a race to feed the hangry humans in my house while also emptying backpacks and lunch boxes, going through the mail, picking up toys, and attempting to fold that last load of clothes. So most of my weeknight meals will never make the blog. I’m also a much less inspired home cook now that I’m a mom. Dinner is often just another thing that needs to get done. Anyone else?

Anyways, I posted this casserole on instagram the other day and y’all wanted the recipe (even though it is SO close to this stuffing-bake that I’ve done before) so here you go. It is not gourmet or from scratch (i.e. it contains canned soup), but it is so dang comforting. I use the pre-shredded rotisserie chicken from Sprouts which is SUCH a time saver. Total first world problem, right - having to pick off the chicken from your pre-cooked rotisserie chicken. Ha! While I used chicken, this would be SO SO good with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving! Def going to do that.

Chicken Noodle Casserole

Total Time: 45 minutes Hands On Time: 15 - 20 minutes. Makes: one 13 X 9 pan

Ingredients:

• 1 - 12oz package egg noodles

• 1 package pre-shredded rotisserie chicken (most packages are 0.8 - 0.9 lbs) OR the chicken pulled from one rotisserie chicken

• 2 - 10.5oz cans cream of chicken soup (or you could do one can cream of mushroom soup if you’re feeling jazzy)

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• 1.25 cups chicken stock (I use reduced sodium)

• 1 - 10oz bag frozen mixed vegetables

• 1 - 12oz bag frozen broccoli (I like the baby broccoli one so they’re smaller pieces)

• Couple sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed and finely chopped

• 1 teaspoon (small palmful) of poultry seasoning

• 1 teaspoon (small palmful) dried mustard (can omit if you don’t have)

• salt and pepper to taste

• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

• 1/2 cup bread crumbs

• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Heat a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the egg noodles HALF AS LONG as the package says to (mine were perfectly par-boiled at 3 minutes). They’ll absorb more liquid and cook more in the casserole.

2. Heat the frozen broccoli for HALF AS LONG as the package says. I like to dice mine after it is par-cooked so it’s easier for little kids to eat. I just microwaved mine covered for 3 minutes or so. Don’t worry about cooking the frozen mixed veggies - they’re so small they’ll cook just fine while the casserole bakes.

3. In a large bowl, combine shredded chicken, canned soup, sour cream, chicken stock, frozen mixed veg, broccoli, herbs, poultry seasoning, and salt and pepper. Mix well.

4. Spray a 13 X 9 baking dish with cooking spray. Sprinkle half of the cooked egg noodles on the bottom. Pour the chicken/veg mixture on top. Add the next layer of noodles. I then take a spoon and kind of swirl it all together so it’s pretty well incorporated.

5. If you’re not going to cook right away, let it come to room temp if it’s hot from the noodles and then cover with foil and put in fridge.

6. When you’re ready to bake: Preheat oven to 375. Remove casserole from fridge while oven comes to temp.

7. Make the topping: combine melted butter, bread crumbs, and grated parm and sprinkle on top.

8. Recover with foil and bake 20 minutes covered at 375. Remove foil and bake 10 minutes uncovered until bubbly. You can broil it for one to two minutes at the end if your crust needs more browning.

9. Let sit a few minutes before cutting and serving.

That’s it! Pretty easy to prep during nap time or before work and throw in the oven later. If you make this, be sure to tag me or send me a photo! I love seeing y’all make TRR recipes!

cheesy spinach and chicken enchiladas

For those who may be new, the original The Rose Record site was mostly recipes. I used to read cookbooks and tinker in the kitchen just for fun back when I had more free time. Now dinner seems less fun and more of a fleeting moment of panic getting food on the table amidst chaos and hungry children. That being said, every now and then my survival cooking mode results in something so good and off-the-cuff, that I need to go ahead and throw it up here.

I started this dinner plan off with a concept that I did long ago that was so delicious and a Rose Record fan favorite - chicken, cheese, and spinach enchiladas. (See it here on my old and now very antiquated looking first website.) This time, though, I had chicken in the slow cooker, added some more “filler” and used the enchilada sauce I had on-hand in the pantry.

The results? Just as good as before - maybe even better. The tender, well-seasoned chicken meets melty cream cheese and hearty spinach. It’s a meal all in one - protein, carb, veg! The best part of this meal though is that I was able to stretch just two boneless skinless chicken breasts into a meal for 4-6 people. Now that is a talent in this day in age when grocery shopping and availability still seems so much more difficult than before.

A few recipe notes:

• You could totally do this with a rotisserie chicken, but y’all know how I love my slow cooker.

• You could do this with red or green enchilada sauce - I had green on had so used that and I think the flavors really complimented the chicken and spinach. However, a can of red sauce would be just as good. Or do it New Mexico style and do half red sauce and half green!

Cheesy Spinach & Chicken Enchiladas

Total Time: 5 - 8 hours (less if your chicken is already cooked) Hands-On Time: 30 minutes

Makes: 8 enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts (can be thawed or frozen)

• 1/2 Cup diced onion

• 1 Cup (half a jar) of green salsa (could be red salsa too if that’s all you’ve got)

• 1 Tablespoon chili powder

• Salt & Pepper

• 4 oz. cream cheese

• 10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, cooked and drained thoroughly

• 16 oz. enchilada sauce (I used the Frontera brand. I only had one packet for this, but really needed two)

• 1/2 Cup sour cream or Greek yogurt

• 8 flour tortillas “soft taco size” (I like the Carb Balance style from Mission brand)

• Toppings of your choice: cilantro, sour cream, hot sauce, pickled jalapenos, avocado

Directions:

1. Combine chicken breasts, diced onion, salsa, chili powder, and salt and pepper in a slow cooker. Cook for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high until chicken easily shreds with a fork.

2. During the last 30 minutes of the chicken cook time, add cream cheese to slow cooker.

3. Once cream cheese has melted and chicken is cooked, shred chicken.

4. Add cooked and DRAINED (like really drain it - any extra water will give you soggy filling) spinach to chicken and cream cheese mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.

5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 9 X 13 glass baking dish.

6. In a shallow pan (I use a pie pan), combine enchilada sauce and sour cream. Whisk until combined.

7. Lightly dip a tortilla into sauce mixture on both sides (it doesn’t need to be sopping wet, just get enough to coat the tortilla a little) and fill with two heaping tablespoons of chicken and spinach filling. Roll tightly and place seam side down in baking dish. Continue until filling is all gone or there isn’t any more space in the pan. I squeeze mine in pretty tightly - I got 8 enchiladas out of this. If you have leftover filling you can shove some into the earlier ones you rolled since I tend to skimp on those at the beginning. Or save it for quesadillas or lunch tomorrow!

8. Once pan is full of rolled enchiladas, dump remaining enchilada sauce on top. I add an little extra sour cream down the middle because it looks pretty (and we are big sour cream stans in our home).

9. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes until bubbly.

Spinach Artichoke Orzo Bake

Hello from the land of, “gosh I wish I would have gotten around to doing X by now”. For me, that X would be loading all of my old recipes from The Rose Record 1.0 to this new site. But quarantine times call for tacking as-needed tasks, rather than want-to projects. Maybe someday? Anyways, I’ve now made this dish twice, a spin off of this recipe from the old days, and figured I’d put it up here for all of you.

This is another make-it-work-for-you type recipe based on what you have. Don’t have frozen spinach? Use fresh. Don’t have orzo - use rice or any short-cut pasta. Have chicken? Add it in (we grilled ours and served it on the side). Don’t want to bake it? Eat it as a cold or room-temp salad. I personally love that this is a “bake” so that I can assemble it all when I have a spare moment (re: nap time) and pop it in the oven during that crazy five o’clock oh-crap-what-are-we-going-to-eat time. However which way you do it, it’s hearty, cheesy, and full of flavor. It’s like eating spinach artichoke dip as a meal!

Spinach Artichoke Orzo Bake

Total Time: 45 minutes Hands-On Time: 15 minutes Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, prepared and drained thoroughly

• 1 1/2 cups orzo pasta

• 32oz. box low-sodium chicken stock or broth

• 2 cloves garlic, smashed

• 14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered

• 3 oz. cream cheese

• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

• 8 oz. fresh mozzarella, cubed (or use mozzarella balls)

• 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes (totally optional)

• juice from half a lemon

• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In a medium sauce pan, heat chicken stock and smashed garlic cloves until boiling. Once boiling, salt the stock and add orzo. Boil for 8 minutes or according to package directions.

2. While orzo cooks, drain and chop your veggies and cheese and place in large bowl.

3. Before draining orzo, reserve a few ladles of chicken stock from the pan. Drain orzo.

4. Add hot orzo to bowl with spinach, artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, mozzarella, cream cheese, and parmesan. Stir to combine and until cream cheese has melted and coated the pasta. If mixture begins to get a little dry, add some of the reserved chicken stock.

5. Taste and add salt and pepper and lemon juice. You can completely eat this as is right now, but if you want more of a cheesy-casserole dish, keep going. We’ve had it once as a cold-salad and it was just as delicious!

6. Pour mixture into greased casserole dish. Sprinkle with a little more parmesan.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until bubbly. You can broil the top for a few minutes to get some good crust.

8. Serve as is for a hearty vegetarian meal or as a side dish to grilled chicken or fish.

Enjoy! If you make it, be sure to tag me on Instagram so I can see your work!

Chicken Stuffing Bake

How’s everyone doing? How’s everyone’s food stash? Are you playing Chopped in your own kitchen yet? Here’s an easy casserole “bake” that I made a few days ago with a random box of stuffing I’m pretty sure I’ve had in my pantry since Thanksgiving? I usually make stuffing from scratch, but always have a back up box in case something goes wrong (I’m in the “I burn bread in the broiler 99% of the time club” - are you?).

So if you have a random bag or box of stuffing, or even just old bread make some croutons and whip this up. Same thing for the veggies, I had half a bag of mixed veg in my freezer, but if all you have is canned throw that in too.

For a “quarantine food” (oh man, is that a new type of cuisine or what), this was pretty darn good! Emilia clobbered it up and we enjoyed the leftovers for lunch for a few days. Use this recipe as a guide based on what you have and feed your people! Bonus points for this being something you can prep during nap time/quite time and throw in and eat when you’re ready.

Chicken Stuffing Bake

Total Time: 45-60 minutes Hands-On Time: 15 minutes Serves: 6-8 (depending on size of humans)

Ingredients:

• 1 box (6oz) of stuffing mix or dried seasoned croutons (I used Stove Top Reduced Sodium, but use what you have)

• 1 Cup hot water or hot broth (broth will give you more flavor)

• 1 lb. uncooked chicken breasts diced into bite size pieces

• 1 can (10.5oz) cream of chicken soup (can use cream of mushroom or cream of celery)

• 1/2 Cup sour cream (can use milk, cream, or mayo instead - its just to dilute the soup some)

• 1-2 teaspoon(s) poultry seasoning (or any and all of dried sage, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder. Use more seasoning if you’re using plain bread and not a box stuffing mix)

• 1 - 2 Cups frozen mixed vegetables (use two cans DRAINED of any veggies instead of frozen)

• Olive Oil Spray

• Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. In a bowl, combine stuffing/bread cubes with the hot water or broth. You just need enough liquid to SLIGHTLY saturate the bread.

3. In a separate small bowl, combine the soup, sour cream and poultry seasoning. If you don’t have sour cream, use one of the substitutions I recommended. You just need enough to dilute the soup a little and get a little bit more out of the one can of soup.

4. In a glass or ceramic casserole dish (I used a 9X13 glass pan), arrange the chicken breast pieces in an even layer. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

5. Add frozen or canned veggies on top of/around chicken. If using frozen, let them thaw a little so the casserole doesn’t get too watery. If using canned, drain them first.

6. Place dollops of the soup/sauce mixture on top of the chicken and vegetables and spread it out.

7. Sprinkle the stuffing on top. Spray the top lightly with olive oil spray.

8. Bake for 30-45 minutes until chicken is cooked through and casserole “sets” a little (mine took 35 min, but will depend on how small you cut your chicken). Broil for a final two minutes to get a good crust on top.

9. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

This is a meal all on it’s own, but I served it along side some brussels sprouts I roasted before they could go bad. You could do a side salad or some toasted bread too. An easy, comforting casserole is what we all need right now, am I right?

We are enjoying more family dinners together and otherwise flying by the seat of our pants. Hang in there, y’all!