I have a lot of “hobbies” – another of which is cooking/baking/experimenting in the kitchen.  The following is an original concocted by my hubby and I:

SOUTHWESTERN BAKED ZITI

Ingredients:

2 T Olive Oil
2 – 3 cloves of garlic, minced or crushed
3 1/2 c whole tomatoes (I used fresh tomatoes, but you could use from a can too)
28 oz can of tomato sauce
4 T tomato paste
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
a sprinkle of basil and oregano
10 oz Rotel (diced tomatoes and peppers) *
4 links of Jalapeno and Cheddar Polish Sausage, browned*
150 slices (3 pkgs) of pepperoni
8 oz Mozzarella Cheese
1 cup Parmesan
4 oz Mexican Cheese, shredded
16 oz box of penne or ziti

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.  Coat a 13x9x2-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Sauce.  Heat oil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat.  Add garlic  and cook for one minute.  Stir in whole tomatoes and their juice, breaking tomatoes apart with your hands or a wooden spoon.  Stir in tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, salt, pepper, basil and oregano.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
3. Remove pan from heat.  Stir in Rotel.
4. Ziti and Cheese.  Boil noodles for 10 minutes.  Drain and transfer to a large bowl.  Add half the sauce to bowl with ziti and meats and stir to coat.  Pour ziti mixture into prepared dish and top with remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheeses.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned.

*For a more “Plain Jane” version, substitute diced tomatoes for the Rotel and plain Polish sausage.

Welcome back!

[Right here is where there should be a scrumptious photograph of a yummy brownie, but I ate it before my brain even thought about the camera.  Oops.  Will a picture of my thighs suffice, instead?]

I’ve been experimenting with some new recipes lately, although most of them have been “real food” – you know, the main course types.

But, then there were these chocolate chip cookie dough brownies.

If I wouldn’t have already eaten them, I’d take a photograph…but then you’d drool all over your keyboard.  I promise.  They were good.

Here’s what you’ll need:

1box Betty Crocker Original Supreme brownie mix (it comes with chocolate icing, but you can save that for another time)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
3 eggs (2 for the brownie mix, 1 for the cookie mix)
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
chopped pecans (optional – just add these into the batters)

(Basically, you just buy the cookie and brownie mix and prepare each separately according to the directions on the back.)

Heat oven to 350 F and grease bottom of a 13×9 pan.  Prepare brownie mix and spread it evenly.  Next, prepare the chocolate chip cookie dough and then spoon drop it in.  Personally, I dropped mine in so it took on a checkerboard effect, but you could do it any way you please.

Bake 35-40 minutes.

Let cool completely.

Now, if you wanted, you could drizzle it in caramel and chocolate, slop on some ice cream and call it a day.

Or, you could REALLY let it cool completely and then prepare the chocolate ganache and smother your brownie in that.  –Which, I recommend.

Actually, I recommend spooning out some of the warm brownie and adding ice cream WHILE I let the rest cool (are you seeing now why perhaps there are no photographs?)

To make the chocolate ganache:

1 bag (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
6 Tbsp butter at room temp

In a small saucepan, heat the cream and butter – You’ll want it to ALMOST be a boil, but not quite.  Then, pour in your chocolate chips and stir until smooth and melted.

Then, smother your brownies in it and try not to eat the whole pan.  At least, not all of them at once.  Space it out a little.  You know, half the pan now and the other half in the morning.

Of course, you’re *supposed* to let the ganache set – which takes a while – but, it’s tasty either way.  I just have no patience, is all.  OBVIOUSLY.