What a day!

This is it. Life as we know it has changed. Miss Picky got her Learner's Permit for Driver's Ed today. That calls for a celebration on her part! and a little nervousness on ours. Definitely calls for comfort food for me and her dad! Her celebration, her choice. Baked Ziti. One of her favorites. Besides the fact that the baby of our family is growing up, she's so happy about driving, this could be a good thing. I might even get a few errands out of her here and there after her road test. At least until the novelty wears off. But that's a long way off. For now, more gray hairs for me and more practice for her.

Baked Ziti 
Printable Recipe

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare the ziti according to package directions but undercook it a bit, so it's not mushy when you bake it. Drain the ziti, I rinse if it's going to be baked. Shake off the excess water. Pour a little of your favorite marinara in the bottom of a baking dish, then put all the ziti in the dish. Top with blobs of ricotta (you can add an egg, but last time I forgot and we liked it!) and then cover with more marinara and then sprinkle with lots of shredded mozzarella. Cover with foil, nonstick foil works really well, and bake for about an hour. Take off the foil and bake until the mozzarella is starting to brown and bubble! I forgot the Parmesan cheese as well as the egg this time. Still really good. I used a jar of sauce. Rao's Marinara or Victoria Marinara. We like that best if I'm not making homemade.

Simple Russian Dressing
Printable Recipe

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup ketchup (more or less to taste)
2 teaspoons pickle relish (optional)
fresh ground pepper, to taste
salt, to taste

Whisk equal parts mayonnaise and ketchup until smooth. Stir in pickle relish, if using. We don't. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Notes: You can also use chili sauce instead of ketchup, horseradish, capers, onions, a little bit of vinegar, or even hot sauce in the dressing, too. We like it simple. Just the mayo and ketchup, salt and pepper.

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