what's for dinner: creamy baked ziti

For several years now, I have been a subscriber of Kraft Food & Family magazine.  It started out free and now it is inexpensive enough that it's still worth keeping (published quarterly).  While many of the meal suggestions are not all that creative, every once in a while I make one that ends up being a keeper.  If you are looking for a traditional Italian version of this classic recipe, you've come to the wrong post my friends. 

This is a cheater.  A riff on the real thing that is still delicious and a whole lot less expensive (have you seen the cost of cheese lately?!?!).  If you are not an ethnic food purist, please do give this a try.  It was a huge hit here!
 
Creamy Baked Ziti
Adapted from Kraft Food & Family
 

4 cups ziti pasta, uncooked

1 jar  (26 oz.) marinara sauce

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained

6 oz.  (3/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) reduced fat cream cheese, cubed

3/4 cup light sour cream

1 pkg.  (8 oz.) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Cook pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, omitting salt. Remove from pan; drain. Meanwhile, add marinara sauce, tomatoes and cream cheese to same pan; cook on medium heat 5 min. or until cream cheese is melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently. Return pasta to pan; mix well.

3) Layer half the pasta mixture in 13x9-inch baking dish; cover with layers of sour cream, 1 cup mozzarella and remaining pasta mixture. Top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan.

4) Bake 20 min. or until heated through.

working mom wednesday: good and bad...

This week’s Working Mommy Wednesday prompts are:

#1) I'm not good at... OR #2) I'm very good at...
 
Funny story: I walked around Target on my lunch hour yesterday and was thinking about what I would write for this post.  Shopping alone is a rarity and it's hard to just stay present in the moment. I end up strolling through aisles trying to plan in advance for birthdays, cards to send, toiletries we may soon need and to be alert for sales.  Not quite as restful as it used to be.  But, those rare trips are also used for thinking.  Mulling over ideas and occasionally being hit with a mild stroke of inspiration.  As I looked around for a birthday gift to send to my cousin's daughter, it struck me.  I knew exactly what I would write for what I'm good at and not.
 
Then, I sat down at the computer to type it out and *poof* 
 
Gone.
 
I am very clearly not good at remembering things unless they are written down. 
 
What I am good at is making lists.  I never take a trip to the grocery store anymore without a very detailed list in hand.  I have post-it notes stuck around my computer monitor labeled with dates and to-do items.  When an occasion arises to send out cards, I have a list ready to check off.
 
True, I've always been a list person.  Writing is one of the ways I learn and absorb information.  I used to make lists and just that process alone was enough to help me remember, not having to refer back very often.  Now, with Mommy brain, lists rule my life, keep me going, provide a semblance of organization.
 
My name is Jen. 
 
I make lists.
 
For sanity's sake.

it starts with a goal...

Always inspired by my cousin and her success at this project in January, I decided to give 3 in 30 a try for myself.  It's a simple concept.  Instead of setting lofty and complicated resolutions, choose three manageable goals at the beginning of each month and work toward finishing them in 30 days.  Or, a mere 28 days this month ;)

Three goals in a month?  I can do that.  Narrowing down the list of what I feel needs to be accomplished might be the toughest task.  So, I'm just mentally pointing to three.  Forget dwelling on prioritizing, just need to make it happen:

1. Scrapbook ONE layout/Get going on Project Life 2010 album:  I will not continue to allow my son's photos and memories to live on a hard drive.  They need to be printed, stuck on a page and the story written out.  One a month I can handle.  And, one paves the way for two...
2. Clean off the dresser top in our bedroom:  Our bedroom is not baby proofed and, as such, not much used and becomes a virtual dumping ground for mail piles and other things we don't have room for in our main living areas. I dread walking through the door at times because it isn't a restful place right now.  Really romantic.  Last week I purged my closet.  This month the dresser top need to be cleaned off.  And it needs to stay that way.
3. Purge the bathroom shelves: We have a tall, narrow shelving unit in our bath that is over-run with toiletries (samples, old stuff, half-full pots and bottles, new).  If it isn't being used, it needs to go. We will eventually be selling this condo and creating the illusion of more space is key.
   I'd like to get that piece out of the bath completely and send it to the cub for large trash pick-up but, the purging must happen first. 

Since I am posting this a full week into the month, here a few pics of my progress to this point.  Yesterday I took out my long neglected PL '10 album (all contained in one bag so it's easy to grab) and sat down for an hour putting the first few pages together.  There are placeholder spots for photos I need to find and I haven't done too much personalization yet but, it is started. And, away we go...

Call me crazy but, there is something nice about putting this together in retrospect.  Look how tiny my little boy was!  It's a perfect excuse to go back over all of those tired, sweet new moments :) 

keeping it together...

When you have a toddler in the house, despite all best efforts, there will be a crazy boatload lot of toys.  Big toys, little toys.  Toys that are (blessedly) silent and those the beep, whirl, sing, whizz and blink.  Try as you might, the toys will come and they will appear to multiply at an alarming rate.  I often ask myself how one tiny little person, only 1/5th of my size could possible need so much stuff?  But, he uses it all.  Sometimes one little piece at a time.  Sometimes appearing to orchestrate the whole lot to make noise at once.

A couple of months ago, our living room was a wreckage of primary colors, board books and noise.  The madness needed to be contained in some manner.  It was just a matter of time before G's first birthday and Christmas arrived back-to-back and those two occasions would (and did) inevitably bring even more stuff.  I informally polled mom friends, looked at solutions online and finally, just browsed around my local Target and our existing containers to find the combination that might help and wouldn't break the bank.  Remember, we are in a cozy (read: tiny) condo and space is at a premium.  This is what we came up with for the living room. 

Cloth storage bins (REstyle, sold in a 2-pack at Target) and a recycled, lined basket sit in the corner between our tv cabinet and couch.  One bin is full (FULL) of board books.  The other bin and basket hold small toys, pop beads, cars, small stuffed animals and things that can easily be tossed in after a play session or at bedtime:

For the large items, we decided to sacrifice the wall under our living room window.  Foam alphabet squares (from the One Step Ahead catalog, a gift from my mom) are arranged on the floor - 2 tiles deep, 6 long - and toys sit on top.  When he's playing they get moved all over the condo but, after playtime, they get moved back here:

Any toys that aren't holding his interest anymore or are aged-out go into bins in the large Ikea Expedit storage unit in the nursery and will eventually (when we move) be packed away for future babes.  It's not a perfect system but, it is easy, functional and the little man seems to like it just fine :)

If you'll forgive my bragging for a moment, I also have to say that I am so, so proud of G.  In the past few weeks he has begun responding to a lot more direction/requests in both English and Greek.  He isn't saying a whole lot yet (very typical for bi-lingual babes) but, he understands a great deal. Love it.

friday favorites and giveaway winner...

Favorite Song: "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" by the master songwriter, Billy Joel.  The storytelling, the emotion, the change in tempo and style all in one beautifully crafted masterpiece that I could listen to on a loop forever.  If I had to choose just one song to live on my iPhone, this would be it. 

An extremely close runner-up would be "American Pie" by Don McLean. Iconic, full of symbolism and even the full eight minute and twenty-seven second version always ends too soon for me.  This song conjures up so many memories of road trips of my childhood and happy times.

Favorite Food: Thai.  No, Italian.  No, it's Greek.  I am a self professed foodie. To choose one is just ridiculous. 

Favorite day of the week: Friday. Three weeks a month, my weekends (all blissful four days of them) begin when I wake up on Friday morning and get to spend the day with George.  Yes, it has to be Friday!

Now, for what several of you have been waiting for. The winner of the 25 Shutterfly.com photo card giveaway is comment #12...

Congratulations Brian!!!  I'm sure you will find the perfect Valentine card to compliment Julia and Grace's sweet smiles.  Enjoy!



what's for dinner: turkey and black bean chili

Just a reminder: My giveaway for 25 free Shutterfly photo cards is open until 5:00 pm EST today!  All the details and entry requirements can be found in the original post HERE.  Good luck :)

1 TBSP olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-1 1/4 lb. ground turkey
2 TBSP chili powder
3 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 can chicken broth
1 (14.5 oz.) cans black beans, drained
1 (14.5 oz.) can dark red kidney beans, drained
2 (14.5 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, one drained (I like to use fire-roasted)
1 (16 oz.) bag frozen corn

Directions:
1. Preheat a heavy stock pot over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, onion, garlic, and turkey. Heat, stirring frequently, until turkey is cooked completely through.
2. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, black pepper, and salt and cook, stirring frequently, for five minutes.
3. Add chicken broth, beans, tomatoes, and corn. When mixture begins to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until chili reaches a deep reddish-brown color.
4. Serve with corn chips, corn bread, cheese, sour cream, onion, salsa, or any other desired accompaniment. Serves six to eight.

Recipe source: Apple a Day

P.S. You might notice in the photo that *someone* accidentally left the red kidney beans out of the recipe this round.  Oops!  So, do as I say, not as I do ;)

wordless wednesday: basket case...

{also, notice the ever present remote  control in his vice grip...ha!}

And a reminder...my GIVEAWAY for 25 Shutterfly.com photo cards is still open!  Yesterday's post has all of the entry details :)