Good morning! We had a wonderful day yesterday because I got to meet an internet friend. Patty, from Morning Ramble lives about 1 1/2 hours away from me and she invited Phillip and I to her son’s wedding. The bride and groom were beautiful and the ceremony was lovely and very romantic. Patty has a wonderful way with words and I hope she will share her thoughts on the day! We didn’t have a chance to visit too much, but we have a visit planned at her place, in November :0)
I also got to visit with my friend Revee and her two girls again. I always enjoy that! Her girls are so sweet, I wanted to sit and chat with them all night!
When we arrived home, there was a surprise package waiting for me. Dawn over at 4:53 am sent me thank you gifts from the fall giveaway!
She made me the most amazing “home themed” magnet. It has my initials, a maple leaf and the name of my blog on it! You are so creative and thoughtful, Dawn! It also has the prettiest tassles. It is on my fridge as we speak. :0)
The girls have their eyes on this pretty tissue cover so I will have to quickly hide it in my purse! Thank you very much, Dawn. I love my new gifts!!
As requested, here is my recipe for Baked Ziti. It is very easy to make ahead and put in the fridge or freezer until bake time.
Baked Ziti
INGREDIENTS
1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta (sometimes I use penne pasta)
1 lb. cooked ground beef
15 ounces ricotta cheese
16 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 (32 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and rinse.
In a medium bowl, mix ziti, cooked ground beef, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese (save about a cup for the top), egg and 2 cups spaghetti sauce. You can also add any spices you like, garlic powder, Italian seasonings, etc.
Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish and spoon in ziti mixture. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce, followed by parmesan and mozarella cheese.
Bake in preheated 375 F oven for 30 minutes; let stand for 15 minutes before serving.
Last but not least, I want to share these pictures that my sister, Melissa sent me last week. It is nice to know that someone out there has fall colors to enjoy!
My nephew Jacob, enjoying the fall day.
We have plans to visit another pumpkin patch this weekend. There will be a farmer’s market, hayrides, pumpkin carving and I may sneak in a little antiquing ;0)
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I would love to hear your plans!
Kelli, Your Baked Ziti recipe looks just right for someone like me needing to stock the freezer! (My baby's due date was yesterday. . . no baby yet! So I've gotta do something productive to keep myself busy and sane while waiting. Think I'll cook.) Thank you for sharing it!
ReplyDeleteHow I'd love it if we could have a blogging friends get together:-) Wouldn't that be fun!! hehe It's wonderful that you were able to meet a couple of fellow bloggers! The recipe sounds so good, I'll copy it and print it out. That magnet Dawn made you is terrific, what a beautiful thank you gift, along witht he tissue cover!! Love the picture of Jacob looking out at the view...wish I could be sitting next to him:-)
ReplyDeleteDawn makes the most beautiful things! Our fall colour has come and gone, and it's been snowing almost non-stop for the past few days :) Most of it is melting, but we'd probably have at least two feet by now if the temps were a bit colder.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Ziti recipe. It sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteYour Ziti recipe looks delish! How fun to meet a blogging buddy!
ReplyDeleteDawn's many talents never fail to amaze me...
Enjoy the rest of the weekend. Our daughter is having her annual Halloween open house tomorrow..