Mmmm...Monday: Laziti

Mondays are dreaded by many. They signify the end of the weekend...the end of 'me' time (unless, of course, you're a mom, in which case 'me time' is from about 8:30 pm to whenever you fall asleep...if you're lucky). I, for one, actually like Mondays, and have for the majority of my life (with the exception of a few college & post-college years). They signify the beginning of a new week...a fresh start. So, to further celebrate Mondays, I've decided to do a little blog feature called 'Mmmm...Mondays' where I will bring to you many culinary delights, both old & new. I can't promise it will be a feature every week, but I'll do my best. And hopefully it will help Monday to be a less dreaded day by all.

To start off Mmmm...Mondays I'll begin with a recipe of my own. It's very simple, and very yummy. Somewhere between baked ziti & lasagna. It doesn't have a name, but you could call it 'Zalagna' or 'Laziti'...or 'Noodle Surprise.' In any case...on to the food. Here are the ingredients:


...well, most of them anyhow. I forgot to include garlic powder & sweet potato & corn baby food in the picture. Mostly because I didn't decide to add them till a bit later. That's how I roll...if I think a recipe needs an ingredient, I add it on the fly. Risky, I know. ;)

And for the recipe:

INGREDIENTS (in case you're more of a word person)
* 1 lb pasta (penne, large shells, or even spiral work great)
* 1 26-oz jar Spaghetti sauce
* 1 16-oz tub lowfat cottage cheese (you could probably get away with fat free without compromising the taste)
* garlic powder
* dried basil (fresh would be better if you have it)
* fresh cilantro (I just used this because it was in the fridge...I normally use dried oregano. However, I think I like the cilantro better)
* shredded cheese of your choice...about 1/2 cup
* pureed baby food or veggies (I mix this into the spaghetti sauce to add to the health content...no one in this house seems to eat veggies besides me)

DIRECTIONS
1. Cook & drain pasta, preheat oven to 350°
2. Stir the pureed veggies or baby food into the spaghetti sauce
3. In a 8"x11" pan begin layering (if you want to do a 9"x13" pan I'd suggest you 1.5x the recipe):

• thin layer of spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 the cooked pasta
• another thin layer of spaghetti sauce
• entire container of cottage cheese
• sprinkle on garlic powder, dried basil & cilantro to your liking
• 1/2 the shredded cheese
• remaining pasta
• remaining spaghetti sauce (you'll want to make sure you have about 1/2 to 3/4 of the jar for this part so the pasta on top doesn't get dry & crusty)
• more garlic powder, basil & cilantro
• remaning shredded cheese

4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until cheese melts

And here is the result...


The thing I like about this recipe is that it's easy and I generally have the ingredients on hand. And it's something Jack will actually eat. Also, you can make it as healthy or unhealthy as you like.

One side note: there's usually a bit of watery spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the pan...this is from the cottage cheese. I like it...it gives me something to mop up with garlic bread. But, if you don't, go ahead & substitute ricotta for the cottage cheese. I just like cottage cheese because it's cheap & less fattening.

And if you're looking for a meal idea...


The garlic bread was super easy...just bought a loaf of French bread, spread on some butter & minced garlic, and sprinkled on garlic powder & basil. Broil in the oven for a few minutes while you're waiting for the pasta to cool. Any leftovers make great sandwiches. Don't be afraid of the spinach, it's actually really good. Just microwave some frozen stuff, add a little lemon juice, butter, salt & pepper. As Jack would say...num num.

And there you have it, the first Mmmm...Monday. I hope you all enjoyed it. I'm already looking forward to next week!