One of those days happened to me recently. I’d made Chicken Cacciatore, which is a favorite around our house, but it makes a lot. Particularly when someone (who shall remain nameless) put a family pack of skinless chicken thighs in the crockpot for the recipe that calls for half as much.

Leftover Penne Pasta? Check.

But I digress. There were too many leftovers, and I didn’t want to freeze them unless I had to, so I decided to take a gander in my fridge. I just happened to have a goodly amount of leftover penne pasta (the good for you multi-grain kind) and a jar of marinara sauce. Did I mention the marinara sauce had lovely garlic and mushrooms in it?

Cheese Saves Dinner

I also…..drum roll….had an unopened container of part-skim ricotta cheese. And three half-used bags of mozzarella and sharp cheddar cheese. Do you know what I made? That’s right. Baked ziti. Using most of the leftover cacciatore. I know. Genius.

When Pasta Monsters Are a Bonus

You can do it too. I preheated the oven to 350 degrees. Then I simply stirred the leftover noodles together with 1/2 of the contents of the jar of marinara sauce, added about 1 teaspoon of dried basil, and then let that sit. Note about the penne pasta: it was about half the Barilla Plus package. I usually boil the whole package of penne pasta and refrigerate the leftovers, because I have pasta monsters (my kids) who will scarf it up in no time.

Spicing Up Ricotta

Ricotta is good, but it can be plain. I added a little nutmeg to the ricotta and stirred it up. Then I took my 9×13 Pyrex pan, sprayed it with non-stick spray, and spread the marinara noodles on the bottom. Next, I unceremoniously scooped the ricotta out, and spread it out as fairly as possible. Everyone wants a bite of ricotta in their portion of ziti!

I took the leftover chicken cacciatore and spooned it as evenly as possible over the ricotta. The remaining half of the marinara was spread over the entire mixture. I topped it generously with the shredded cheese, covered it with foil, and baked it for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Voila. Dinner for which I was a hero!

Do you have any kitchen stories to share? Let’s hear them!

Photo by Kelly Estes

A recipe for Baked Ziti Casserole I discovered on Cooks.com inspired me to put my own twist on it to suit dietary needs. Since everyone loved it (including the sometimes picky 3-year-old), I declare this ziti a winner.

Another thing I loved about the Baked Ziti Casserole is that it takes a little less than half an hour to prepare, and then it’s baking away for 20-25 minutes. If you use that baking time wisely, all your prep dishes and pans will be clean by the time your Baked Ziti is done.

Baked Ziti Casserole

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20-25 minutes
Total time: 40-45 minutes

Ingredients

• 16 ounces ziti pasta
• 1 pound ground chicken (not ground chicken breast; too dry for this dish)
• 2 Tablespoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 carrots, cut into 1/2″ slices
• 2 celery stalks, cut into 1/2″ slices
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups 2% milk
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
• 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
• 16 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese (use 1/2 at a time)
• 8 ounces part skim ricotta cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/3 cup fresh parmesan (to top)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

1. Prepare al dente ziti. Drain pasta water. Return pasta to pot (leave pot off the burner for now).
2. In the meantime, cook ground chicken. Season with cumin and salt. Drain fat. Put cooked chicken in bowl.
3. Saute carrots, celery and onion in skillet over medium heat for 5-7 minutes (or until veggies are nearly tender) with either chicken fat drippings or 1 T. vegetable oil. Once veggies are tender, toss in minced garlic and saute for 30 seconds along with vegetables.
4. Whisk milk and flour together until completely combined. Pour into vegetable mixture in pan; stir. Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, Herbes de Provence and pepper. Bring to a boil for about a minute (mixture will show thickness at boiling). Turn heat off the pan.
5. Pour vegetable mixture, cooked ground chicken, and 8 ounces mozzarella into pot with pasta. Stir.
6. In a separate bowl, combine ricotta cheese with Italian seasoning.
7. Spoon 1/2 of the pasta mixture into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Top with spoonfuls of ricotta cheese mixture. Put remaining pasta mixture on top of ricotta cheese. Sprinkle with remaining 8 ounces of mozzarella, and the fresh parmesan.
8. Cover baking dish with foil. Bake (covered) for 20-25 minutes until it is hot and bubbly, with melted cheese adorning it.

Photos by Kelly Estes

My homemade latte

What’s for dinner? In order to avoid dinner emergencies happening too often, I’ve started planning a weekly dinner menu <gasp>! Planning the menu for the week helps cut down on short trips to the grocery store (and lowers our food bill). Thanks to the Menu Plan Monday idea from Laura at I’m An Organizing Junkie!

First, I make a homemade latte (yum); this is my incentive to sit down with my coffee and do a little research for our weekly menu. All it takes is a few minutes of googling what’s on sale at the local grocers, and then finding or creating recipes to match. I must say meal planning is a little harder during Lent, since I like to have seafood on Friday. Meatless lasagna isn’t for me. That said, here’s my menu for the week. If you have any menu planning tips, I’d love to hear them!

Menu Plan Monday (prep work completed on the weekend, as Mondays are busy!)

Sunday: Baked Ziti (serves 8, so great for leftovers) with coleslaw.

Monday: My own version of Pork Roast Casserole (using leftover pulled pork from Saturday) with green salad and zucchini.

Tuesday: Baked Ziti leftovers (yum…Italian dishes always seem even tastier leftover) with steamed broccoli and leftover coleslaw.

Wednesday: A twist on Low-fat Chicken and Chickpea Stew (trying out a recipe using my crockpot–yes!).

Thursday: Spaghetti (homemade) with garlic bread and cranberry feta green salad.

Friday: Baked fish (whatever is on sale) with microwaved asparagus and brown rice.

Saturday: Hubby’s in charge of dinner!

So, do you have any meal planning tips for me? And what’s for dinner at your house this week?

Photo by Kelly Estes