With the holidays and the start of a new job, my routine has been totally disrupted. I had been doing my grocery shopping on Thursdays after reviewing the Journal-World food ads on Wednesday. I was doing the shopping every other week. This was working out great. And by doing the shopping every other week, I was really having to plan out my weekly menus – no guessing as to what I was going to make for dinner.

Then upheaval – holidays and new hours at work. I let things slide. I was falling back into my old (bad) habits. You know, those unplanned emergency trips to the store, asking myself what’s for dinner on the way home from work.

So now we’re into the third week in January, and I’m hoping to get myself back on track.
I decided to do my grocery shopping Saturday. I planned a menu and made my list. I don’t usually like to do my grocery shopping on Saturday, but I’m trying to figure out my new routine. We’ll see how this works.

I mentioned last week how I’ve really been in that cooking mode. So here’s Sunday’s menu based on my oldest son’s request (Please note that he’s been watching the Sopranos On Demand). We will be having baked ziti, tossed salad, and garlic bread. I don’t have an exact recipe for the ziti, but I will do my best to get it on paper. This serves my family of 4 (with leftovers).

For the meat sauce:

2 tbl olive oil

1 lb. ground beef

1-2 cloves garlic

splash of red wine

favorite jarred marinara sauce

Heat olive oil in sauce pan, add ground beef and brown with garlic. Once meat is cooked through, add wine. Let that simmer about 5-10 minutes, then add marinara sauce. Bring sauce to a slow boil, let simmer for about 30-45 minutes.

1 lb. ziti, mostaccioli, penne (or your favorite short pasta)

2 cups mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese

While sauce is simmering, cook pasta according to package. Drain and toss with some of the sauce to coat the pasta.
To assemble the dish: Ladle sauce (enough to coat) bottom of 9×13 pan. Next layer half the pasta, ladle enough sauce to cover the noodles, 1 cup mozzarella, and a sprinkling of parmesan. Repeat another layer with the rest of pasta, ladle more sauce to cover (make sure to get sauce into the corners of the pan) and rest of mozzarella cheese and another sprinkling of parmesan.

Bake in 350 degree preheated oven for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and starting to brown.

Serve with more sauce and parmesan.