Baked Ziti with Meat Sauce

One thing I have been missing since becoming gluten free/dairy free is baked ziti! Finally, one of my sorority sisters and fellow gluten free dairy free girl told me about this great cheese from Daiya Foods and I knew my time to make my own baked ziti had come!

Baked Ziti with Meat Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 pound ziti pasta (rice pasta is my favorite – great taste and texture)
• Olive oil
• 1 pound bulk ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary (or basil), minced
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• pinch of salt to taste
• 1 large jar of marinara sauce (about 32 ounces)
• 1/2 pound of Daiya mozzarella cheese (or a little more if you like it really cheesy!)

1. Bring a large pot of water to a strong boil. Add about a tablespoon of salt for every 2 quarts of water. Add the pasta and boil, uncovered, until the pasta is a little less than al dente—Rice pasta can be tricky sometimes.The trick to making this dish really good is to avoid over cooking the pasta. It should be cooked even LESS than al dente and still too tough to eat. Take a few minutes off the cooking time that your rice pasta says. Drain the pasta through a colander. Toss with a little olive oil so the pasta does not stick together while you make the sauce.
2. Pour a tablespoon or so of olive oil into a large sauté pan on medium-high to heat. When the oil is hot, add the ground beef. Brown well. Don’t stir that often or it will be more difficult for the meat to brown properly. Add a little salt.
3. When the meat is mostly browned, add the onions and stir well to combine. Sauté everything until the onions are translucent and beginning to brown, about 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic, rosemary or basil, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Cook 1 minute, then add the tomato sauce and stir well. Bring to a simmer.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a 9×13-inch casserole pan, then sprinkle the surface with some of the Daiya mozzarella cheese. Ladle in some sauce with the pasta, mix it well and add the pasta into the casserole.
5. Pour the rest of the sauce over the pasta and sprinkle on top the mozzarella cheese.
6. Bake in the oven until the top is nicely browned, about 20 minutes.

YAY!! I can enjoy Baked Ziti again!! Serve with some broccoli and ENJOY!!

Kwegyirba Croffie is a freelance Associate Producer at News 12 Connecticut and a Special Events/Event Planning and Social Media Intern at College Lifestyles (TM). She is a Quinnipiac University alumni and a sister of Alpha Delta Pi. She enjoy cupcakes,Broadway musicals, Forever 21 ,giraffes, peacock feathers, orchids, lillies and anything Disney.

Toffee-Coffee Brownies

I’ve been craving toffee and chocolate – a wonderful combination. Especially the toffee from Azure Chocolat! (It is delicious and what I will be using for this recipe!) Check out my Azure Chocolat review! (Seriously if you are on Long Island GO HERE!) OK, let’s get to the recipe!

Toffee-Coffee Brownies

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens 

Ingredients

• 1 19.8 – 21 ounce package brownie mix (Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownie Mix)
  • All ingredients called for to make the brownies
• 1/2 cup toffee pieces (Azure Chocolat toffee) or your favorite toffee
• 2 – 3 tablespoons instant espresso powder or instant coffee crystals
• 3/4 cup canned vanilla frosting (Betty Crocker)
• 1 tablespoon Irish cream liqueur or coffee liqueur
• 1/4 cup toffee pieces (Azure Chocolat toffee)

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, extending the foil up and over the edges of the pan. Grease foil very well (Earth Balance Vegan Butter works well); set aside.
2. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions, except stir the 1/2 cup toffee pieces and the espresso powder into batter. Spread batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes.
4. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Remove baked mixture from pan by lifting foil. Make sure your brownies are cooled COMPLETELY before you frost them – a cool brownie is a happy brownie!
5. In a small bowl, combine vanilla frosting and liqueur.
6. Spread frosting mixture onto cooled brownies. Sprinkle with the 1/4 cup toffee pieces. Cut into bars.
7. Serve with rice whipped cream and your favorite gluten free ice cream! (or non-dairy ice cream)

ENJOY!!

Kwegyirba Croffie is a freelance Associate Producer at News 12 Connecticut and a Special Events/Event Planning and Social Media Intern at College Lifestyles (TM). She is a Quinnipiac University alumni and a sister of Alpha Delta Pi. She enjoy cupcakes,Broadway musicals, Forever 21 ,giraffes, peacock feathers, orchids, lillies and anything Disney.

Snickerdoodle Bread

Snickerdoodles. Great as a cookie so why not a snickerdoodle bread? Perfect for breakfast or a nice snack. Enjoy with your favorite cup of tea!

Snickerdoodle Bread

Ingredients

For the Bread:

• 2 1/2 cup gluten free flour
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup vegan butter, softened
• 2 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup vegan sour cream
• 1 1/2 cup cinnamon chips
• 2 tablespoon gluten free flour

For the Topping:

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

1. Preheat your oven to 350º. Grease four/five mini loaf pans and set aside.
2. Combine 2 1/2 cups flour and baking powder in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl cream butter, 2 cups sugar, salt and cinnamon until fluffy, about two minutes.
4. Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition.
5. Add vanilla and sour cream and mix to combine.
6. Add flour mixture stirring until just combined.
7. Coat the cinnamon chips with 2 tablespoons flour and stir into batter.
8. Spoon batter into four/five greased mini loaf pans (5 3/4 x 3 1/4 x 2 1/4). Don’t fill more than 2/3 full. Combine 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon and sprinkle over the top of batter in the pans.
9. Bake at 350º for 35 to 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into a crack in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
10. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before removing from pan.
11. Note: You can also make this in two 9×5 loaf pans. Bake at 350º for 60 to 70 minutes until a toothpick inserted into a crack in the center of the loaf comes clean.

Love the cinnamon and sugar combination!

ENJOY!

Kwegyirba Croffie is a freelance Associate Producer at News 12 Connecticut and a Special Events/Event Planning and Social Media Intern at College Lifestyles (TM). She is a Quinnipiac University alumni and a sister of Alpha Delta Pi. She enjoy cupcakes,Broadway musicals, Forever 21 ,giraffes, peacock feathers, orchids, lillies and anything Disney.