One-pot "Baked" Ziti

I know, you can hardly stand the excitement--back to back recipe days!  I admit, I'm excited too.  This one is a new one that I am soooo going to have to try with my family.  They have come to love One-pot Lasagna.  This one looks like it will take even less time to prepare.  

1 lb ziti pasta
17 oz jar marinara
1/2 c mozzarella
1/2 c Parmesan
15 oz ricotta cheese

Cook ziti pasta al dente. Drain the pasta. Add  marinara to the pasta pan and bring to medium high heat. Stir in the cooked pasta along with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses then add ricotta cheese. Heat through and serve.

The recipe I read also suggested adding cut up cooked vegetables, sliced pepperoni or even diced ham.  I can see my family wanting pepperoni added to this dish.

Sounds delish.

Meat, wrapped in meat, slathered in sugar! aka: Brown Sugar Kielbasa with Baked Potato

That's how a friend described this meal when she saw it.  Pretty accurate and ooooooh so very yummy.

Baked Potatoes (Wash/scrub potatoes.  Wrap individually in aluminum foil.  Put in 350 degree oven before you start the kielbasa/bacon.  Potatoes need at least an hour in the oven.)

Now for the Kielbasa. . .

 

1 (16 ounce) package kielbasa (we like turkey kielbasa, less grease)
1 pound bacon (pork or turkey--depends on your tolerance for grease)
1 cup brown sugar, or to taste

Cut bacon into halves and wrap each strip around the kielbasa. I prefer to use a toothpick to hold it in place.  But some would say I'm kind of OCD about things like that.

Arrange on a baking sheet and sprinkle liberally with brown sugar.

Bake until bacon is crisp and the brown sugar melted, about 30-40 minutes.

Obviously you could do cheesy potatoes with this but I like baked potatoes to balance out the fat and sugar of the kielbasa.

Working My Way Back to You Girl!

I don't know why but this song was always fun to listen to when I was a kid. . .

Oh happy day!

If you are old like me you remember well the thrill of walking into a classroom and seeing one of these:

Fridays should be movie days, right?

A little while back I did a piece on one of my favorite movies from way back when--The Secret War of Harry Frigg.  See it here

At the time of that writing, I had not located it online anywhere.  Excellent news ladies and gentelmen--it does exist online!  You cannot imagine how excited I was to find it!  I almost couldn't wait for Friday to get here so I could share it with you!

So here you go. . .Paul Newman as Harry Frigg!

The Secret War of Harry Frigg 

RIP Patti Page

Patti Page died January 1st.  She was 85.

As a young girl she was told she had a good voice and from there, things happened.  She is known for a host of songs. . .some of which weren't expected to be big hits and several which were "crossover" hits that didn't really fit the existing categories.  Even though she was "before my time" I knew her music well because my mom loved to listen to Patti Page

Today I want to share a few of my favorites

Doggie in the Window:

Tennessee Waltz became her biggest hit.  According to FOX news: "Tennessee Waltz" scored the rare achievement of reaching No. 1 on the pop, country and R&B charts simultaneously and was officially adopted as one of two official songs by the state of Tennessee. Its reach was so powerful, six other artists reached the charts the following year with covers.

And of course I can't leave out Mockin' Bird Hill

Earlier this year I featured "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte" as one of my favorite songs.  See that post here.

Back to life, back to reality. . .

Second semester starts today.  Yay!

Trying to get excited about going back to the grind.

Don't get me wrong. . .I really really like my job.  A lot of the time I love it.  I just get worn down by all the hustle and bustle of the school year overall.  The schedule can be exhausting.

There are things I do like about the return to work in January.  For one thing, we are starting all over again.  The "sins" of first semester are buried and all have a new chance.  Plus I really like what I teach second semester. So hard to believe that the first time I was asked to teach this course I actually cried because I thought I would hate it.

So today we head back into the grind.  Five more months until summer vacation!  We can do it!

Resolutions

I don't really believe in New Year's Resolutions.

Maybe because I've never been too successful with them in the past?

I've done the "I'm going to lose 10 lbs by _____"

Fail.

I've done the "I'm going to quit cussing."

Ask my kids.  I blame cussing on driving in a town full of idiot drivers.  And I tell the kids that they aren't old enough to cuss because they aren't old enough to drive. . .course that excuse won't hold much longer.

Maybe I should work on that "quit cussing" resolution after all?

I have had some success with "no eating after supper" and "no snacking in between meals" but that's mostly common sense.

Last year my only "resolution" involved kindness.  I think simple compassion and understanding are what are missing most in this world.  This does NOT mean "anything goes." We do not have to blithely accept everything as OK.  Standards can co-exist with kindness and compassion.  What it does mean is that  I need to be more aware of what others are experiencing and work to do what I can to NOT add to anyone else's burden.  I would like to think that I have had some success with this one. 

And yet I know I still have room for improvement.

Certainly any efforts I can make with this resolution will be good.

Do you do resolutions?  What are your resolutions?

PS--I am also going to read more books, more non-fiction in particular.