Baked Rigatoni

I tried this out on Saturday to test out some sauce methods. It came out delicious and I'm still enjoying the leftovers!

16 oz box rigatoni
1 cup shredded Mozzarella
Meat Sauce:
1 lb ground meat (I used a combo of half sausage/ half beef)
1 Jar of high quality tomato sauce ( I used leftover fresh sauce I had in the fridge)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Bechamel Sauce:
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
3 - 3 1/2 cups milk
1 cup shredded cheese (I used Gruyere, Parmesan, and Asiago)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Cook the rigatoni according to package directions and set aside. In a large pot, brown the meat. When it is browned, add the tomato sauce and simmer on low-med for about 15 minutes and set aside. In a separate sauce pan, melt the butter, then add the flour and whisk for 3 minutes or so (until flour is lightly cooked, you don't want it to get brown or it will change the color of the sauce). Then add the 3 cups of milk and whisk continuously. The sauce will thicken after about 5 minutes (If it's too thick, add more milk). Let the sauce cook on low-med for about 10 - 15 minutes, whisking occasionally. Then add the cheese and whisk until it has melted in.

Assembly: On the bottom of a 9X13 dish, spread a layer of the Meat Sauce, then place a layer of Rigatoni. On top of that, spread Bechamel and then more meat sauce. Then add another layer of Rigatoni, Then Bechamel, and finally top with the shredded mozzarella. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until mozzarella is lightly browned. Makes about 6 servings.

Yummy Mint Chip!

I have been craving some good ice cream lately and went with my all time favorite...Mint Chocolate Chip. I wasn't sure which brand to buy, but I didn't want a huge amount lingering around my freezer so I went with Häagen-Dazs Mint Chip. This has to be my favorite store bought brand of mint chocolate chip. It's super creamy, has the perfect amount of mint, and the perfect amount of dark chocolate pieces. This is going to be hard...but I decided to eat 1/4 cup (150 calories) every other night for a treat. After all, I've been doing pretty well at working out (trying to lose a few more lbs for the Pillsbury Bake-Off next month) so I think I deserve a little extra ice creamy goodness.

Salad Creations vs. Tossed

I usually try to keep it somewhat healthy for lunch and have a salad. I work in Boca and have 2 salad restaurant franchises that are pretty close to me. I have tried them both and this is how they compare.

Salad Creations: They feature salads, wraps and soups. The salads have a "create your own" option which is $6.99 ($2.25 extra for meat). I like this idea because you can pick anything you want and it's the same price. They also have a great choice of dressings, including several that are low fat (and actually taste good). Salad Creations is the winner for overall value, and it's my pick.


Tossed: They have a larger menu than Salad Creations. They also offer regular sandwiches and smoothies. Their wraps are "crepes", but it's basically the same. Their Salad Palate (their version of Create Your Own, which you can also put in a crepe) lets you choose all your toppings, but they charge you for each individually. This really adds up! For the same price of Salad Creations, I get about half as many toppings. The best deals are the pre-designed salads and crepes. The dressings they offer are regular (way too many calories) and Fat Free (gross!). But overall, Tossed is good if you're looking for the most variety.

Fort Lauderdale: BBQ Jacks

After about a year and a half of constantly driving by the fragrant smoker, I decided to try it and see what BBQ Jacks was all about. They have a pretty typical BBQ menu, featuring Pork, Ribs, other meats and sides. I decided to go for the Pulled BBQ Sandwich Combo ($6.99). The combo comes with the sandwich, fries and baked beans. I placed my order at the counter and it was ready for me to take home in about 5 minutes. The dining area itself is very basic, similar to any fast food restaurant. So I get home and open the box, there plenty of meat on the sandwich, and the pork had the smoked pink look which was good. The sides looked good too, just the right amount of fries and beans.

The pulled pork sandwich: The bread was standard, nice and soft. The pork seemed much more like chopped up than "pulled" and some bites had some tough pieces which I wasn't quite fond of. The smoky flavor was slightly overpowering and the sauce a little sweeter than I like.

The sides: Fries were great, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The beans were really good too, probably the best I've had in a while. You could taste the bacon slightly and they had just the right amount of sweetness.
Overall: Not bad, but I have definitely had better. Next time I'll try Tom Jenkins.

Turkey Mozzarella Panini

I was craving something cheesy on Saturday, and I didn't want to go to Publix so I had to search for something good to make. I had some yummy Olive Bread from Whole Foods, turkey, and mozzarella cheese (which I always seem to have on hand now since I'm practicing for the Pillsbury Bake-Off). I broke out my grill pan and my panini gadget. I love the panini press! It's basically just a cast iron weight with grill marks in it (only 10 bucks at Homegoods!). You can use it with any pan and it makes a perfect panini.



So here's what I did...
I set my grill pan on the stove at medium. I took 2 slices of olive bread and spread butter on one side and dijon mustard on the other. Then on one of the dijon sides, I sprinkled mozzarella, added one slice of turkey, then sprinkled more shredded mozzarella on top of that. Then I topped it with the other slice of bread (butter facing out). I put the panini on the grill pan and set the press on top of it. The panini was great! It was gooey in the middle, and the crust was crisp and buttery!