Ravenswood Zinfandel

4 stars out of 5. This is one of my favorite reds.  It is rich without being overpowering.

Baked Ziti

From The Way the Cookie Crumbles.

Delicious.  Here's the recipe - it took much longer than I expected at the beginning.

Baked Ziti (from Cooks Illustrated)


Serves 8-10

Healthy tricks: Use 1% cottage cheese, whole wheat pasta, part-skim mozzarella, and 2 teaspoons cornstarch plus 1 cup milk instead of ¾ teaspoon cornstarch with 1 cup heavy cream.

1 pound whole milk or 1% cottage cheese (I used FF)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 ounces parmesan cheese (about 1½ cups), grated
table salt
1 pound ziti pasta
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 medium garlic cloves, minced (about 5 teaspoons)
1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon sugar (ha - I used 1 cup instead of tsp! Oops)
black pepper
¾ teaspoon cornstarch (2 tsp)
1 cup heavy cream (I used skim)
8 ounces low-moisture mozzarella cheese, cut into ¼ inch pieces (about 1½ cups)

I also added diced onions to the sauce, 1 pound Italian sausage & 8 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms.  I made 2 dishes - one meatless, and added the mushrooms and sausage on top of the pasta, topping it with sauce.

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°F. Whisk cottage cheese, eggs and 1 cup Parmesan together in medium bowl; set aside. Bring 4 quarts of water to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat. Stir in 1 tablespoon salt and pasta; cook, stirring occasionally, until pasta begins to soften but is not yet cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain pasta and leave in colander.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil and garlic in 12-inch skillet over medium heat until garlic is fragrant but not brown. Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and oregano; simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in ½ cup basil and sugar, then season with salt and pepper.

3. Stir cornstarch into heavy cream in small bowl, transfer mixture to Dutch oven set over medium heat. Bring to simmer and cook until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove pot from heat and add cottage cheese mixture, 1 cup tomato sauce and ¾ cup mozzarella, then stir to combine. Add pasta and stir to coat thoroughly with sauce.

4. Transfer pasta mixture to 13- by 9-inch baking dish and spread remaining tomato sauce evenly over pasta. Sprinkle with remaining ¾ cup mozzarella and remaining ½ cup Parmesan over top. Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

5. Remove foil and continue to cook until cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes longer. Cool for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 3 tablespoons basil and serve.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

From Crockpot Tuesday's.  I like her recipes, they are easy prep work, not a lot of ingredients, and very tasty.

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken breast
2 cans chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 stalks of celery, chopped (omitted)
half of a large onion, chopped (omitted)
1 cup carrots, chopped (I used three large)
Rosemary and parsley, to taste (or whatever seasonings you like)
8 oz. egg noodles (I used 6 oz)

Directions:
Place everything in the crockpot except the egg noodles. Cook on low for 7-8 hours. At end of cook time, shred the chicken. Add egg noodles; cover and cook on high for about 30 minutes.

Mine was VERY thick, it was basically chicken and noodles.  I even added about 3/4 of a cup of water when I added the noodles.  It was good, though, and very easy!  The chicken shreds very nicely after being in a crockpot all day, and the noodles are very tasty on top of it.  If only it were healthy...

Chicken Enchiladas Roll-Ups

I got this recipe from Annie's Eats and made them for Superbowl tomorrow. They are fantastic (of course I had to try a couple to test them).  I used Mission sun dried tomato basil tortillas, and I put leg quarters in the slow cooker for the meat. 

Edit - eat these the day you make them. I threw them in the fridge, and tried them the next day - WAY too mushy!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, Mexican blend, pepper jack, etc.)
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
2 tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. cumin
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
Salt, to taste
Handful of cilantro, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
10 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained well
4-6 8-inch tortillas

Directions:
Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Cook in a skillet over medium-high heat until lightly browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and let cool.
In the meantime, combine all of the remaining ingredients except tortillas in a large mixing bowl. Mix until well blended. Once the chicken is cool, transfer to a cutting board and chop or shred into small pieces. Add the chicken to the filling mixture and stir well to incorporate.
Spread a thin layer of the filling mixture over a tortilla, leaving a small border clear around the edge. Roll the tortilla up tightly into a spiral. Place the rolled up tortilla on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut into 1- to 1½-inch thick segments. Transfer to a serving platter and serve chilled or at room temperature.

Shoofly Shiraz

This wine is very good!  Price was about $14, and well worth it with the investment of a vacuum pump to keep it fresh.  I would definitely buy it again.

4 stars out of 5.

Black Swan Riesling

Not sweet enough for my taste.  Dry and just not what I usually want out of a Riesling. 

1 star out of 5.

Peanut Butter Balls

These are delicious!  From Taste of Home.

1 (18 ounce size) jar of peanut butter


2 cups Rice Krispies cereal

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)


In a double boiler over low heat, melt chocolate and set aside. In a medium sized bowl, combine all other ingredients. Blend well until mixture forms a dough. Roll into 1-inch balls. Using a toothpick or fork, dip the balls into the chocolate until well coated. Place onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.