Baked Penne

Here is a great dish that is easy to make. It was served as dinner to out-of-town guests who attended a birthday party that we went to last weekend. (Wasn't that a thoughtful thing to do so we didn't have to go scrounging for a restaurant?) I could not believe how delicious it was!

This can be made up ahead of time and then baked when you are ready. I made it this week and I will make it again soon and put it in my freezer, ready to bake. This recipe fills a 9 x 13 pan.

Baked Penne

1# lean hamburger

1/2# ground Italian sausage

1 small onion, chopped

3 cloves chopped garlic

2-3 cups shredded mozzerella cheese

1 jar Ragu or other spaghetti sauce, approx. 22 oz.

1 can seasoned, diced tomatoes, approx. 14 oz.

1 box Barilla whole grain penne pasta, 13.25 oz.

Brown the meat, onion, and garlic together in large skillet. Drain excess grease if necessary. While meat mixture is cooking, boil pan of water and cook pasta according to directions on box. Drain pasta. Add spaghetti sauce and diced tomatoes to meat mixture and continue cooking about 8-10 minutes. Now you are ready to layer much like you would a lasagna. Start with sauce in the bottom of 9 x 13 pan and make layers of meat sauce, pasta, cheese, ending with cheese on top. Bake covered for about 30-40 minutes, until thoroughly hot and cheese is melted.

*Note: This would be a great dish to take to a family in need, either hot, or ready-to-bake. Add a tossed salad and some dinner rolls, and maybe some simple brownies or ice cream, and you have a very simple but lovely dinner to deliver.

Something different for Easter dinner...

I just felt like doing something a little different than our usual ham and scallopped potatoes for dinner this year. What do you think?

Our menu consisted of chicken cordon bleu, ham, sweet potato casserole, green beans, and tossed spring salad with cranberries, pine nuts, and blue cheese, and the traditional hot cross buns.

Since it was my hubby's birthday as well, we had cake and ice cream for dessert. A friend gave me this idea of putting the ice cream in cup cake papers the day before, so we wouldn't have to stand there scooping out ice cream when it was time for dessert. It worked out really well. I filled the papers in the cupcake pan with vanilla ice cream and added a few colored sprinkles, then put it back in the freezer overnight.

Here is the chicken recipe. I love that this is prepared the day ahead, and only takes 20 minutes to bake before serving.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Pound chicken breasts to about 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley. Add a thin slice of ham, and a slice of mozzarella cheese. Carefully roll. Dip in a mixture of mayonnaise and a little water. Roll in seasoned bread crumbs, and place seam side down on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with Pam. Bake 20 minutes at 425 degrees F.

Move over Martha...

I finally put away the last vestige of winter this week as I threw my winterberry wreath in the trash. It had served me well for several seasons, but wouldn't make it through another Ohio winter! Here's what I put on our front door in its place:

I'm so proud of myself because during the winter I found the makings for this wreath at our local Salvation Army store. It is a 25 inch grapevine wreath, and there were about ten bunches of artificial spring flowers that came with it. All for $2.97!!!

So it took me about an hour to cut the flowers apart with a wire cutter, and hot glue them onto the wreath. The ribbon for the bow I made cost me $1.00 at Dollar Tree. So for a total of $4.00 I have a nice new look for Spring!

Then last week I found a little consignment shop that unfortunately is going out of business. But lucky for me, this beautiful ceramic pitcher was on sale for 60% off. My kitchen colors are butterscotch, barn red, and navy blue. I had been wanting to make a spring-like centerpiece for our kitchen table so this was perfect. The pitcher cost $7.00 and I added $3. worth of artificial daisies, which made the arrangement about 20 inches high.

Another "find" over the winter at a different consignment shop are these large 12 inch diameter House Beautiful heavy wooden charger plates. They are navy blue, and the original price was $22. each. I got them for $5. each! The large butterscotch colored cloth napkins I found at a discount store for 25 cents each. I love the new look of my kitchen table, which by the way, was green for about 12 years until we painted it barn red, except for the top.

I'm so excited that Spring is finally here. I love home decorating on a budget. I hope some of you will share some ideas with me! Happy Spring!

"...train the younger women...to be busy at home..." Titus 2