General Trick Blogger

It’s the perfect thing to serve a hungry teenage boy who is visiting for spring break, who somehow manages to eat his weight every day, who loves to skateboard and can play Minecraft for hours without getting bored. Not that I know anyone like this at all.

Baked Spaghetti Recipe

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 1 hour, 45 minutes Yield: Serves 8 to 10.

If you don’t like mushrooms, please feel free to leave them out. If you love mushrooms, I recommend using shiitake because they are so wonderfully flavorful. Or you could augment creminis with dried porcinis that have been reconstituted in hot water.

Save time on prep by chopping the onions and mushrooms while the sausage is cooking, and grating the cheese while the pasta is cooking.

Ingredients 3/4 lb vermicelli pasta or thin spaghetti 1 lb bulk sweet Italian sausage 1/4 pound shiitake or cremini mushrooms, roughly chopped 1 medium onion, chopped, about 1 1/2 cups 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 3 cups or 24 ounces of marinara or meatless tomato sauce* 1 1/2 cups water 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 1 Tbsp olive oil plus more for greasing the casserole dish 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese 2 eggs, beaten 1 cup ricotta cheese 2-3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

*You can make your own or use a good quality jarred sauce. To make your own, make a double recipe of our basic tomato sauce, blend it smooth to use in this baked spaghetti recipe.

Method

1 Put a large pot of water on the stove on high heat. Add salt to the water, about 2 Tbsp for 6 quarts of water. While the pasta water is heating, continue with the next steps.

2 Break up the sausage into clumps into a large sauté pan. Turn the heat on, to medium. Slowly cook the sausage, breaking it up into smaller pieces with the a wooden spoon. The slow cooking will help the fat render out. Cook until the sausage is cooked through, no longer pink anywhere, and lightly browned. Remove the sausage from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Drain the fat from the pan (not into your sink or you may clog it!)

3 Add the chopped onions and mushrooms to the pan. Increase the heat to medium high. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions become translucent and the mushrooms have given up some of their liquid. Add the minced garlic and red chili pepper flakes, and cook a minute more.

4 Add the marinara sauce and the 1 1/2 cups of water to the pan with the onions and mushrooms. Add the sausage back to the pan.  Add the Italian seasoning and chopped parsley.  Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to a very low simmer on the lowest simmer setting on your stovetop.  Cook for 10 to 15 minutes or so while you make the pasta.

5 By this time your pasta water in step one should be boiling. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook, uncovered, at a rolling boil, for 5 to 6 minutes, al dente. Note that the pasta will continue to cook and absorb some of the sauce when it is in the casserole dish in the oven, so the pasta should be al dente. When ready, drain the pasta and rinse in cold water.

6 Place the cooled pasta in a large bowl.  Toss with olive oil, then the Parmesan, then 2 beaten eggs. It’s easiest to do this with your (clean) hands.

7 Preheat your oven to 350°F. Rub the inside of a 13×9 inch casserole dish (a Pyrex dish works great) with olive oil. Spread 1 cup of the sauce over the bottom of the casserole dish.

8 Place half of the pasta in an even layer in the casserole dish. Cover with half of the sauce. Then dot the sauce with all of the ricotta cheese. Sprinkle half of the Mozzarella over the ricotta layer. Layer again with the remaining pasta, the remaining sauce, and the remaining Mozzarella.

9 Cover with foil and bake for 40 min at 350°F. Remove the foil and bake an additional 20 minutes uncovered. Remove from oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

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Do you have a favorite lazy day chicken recipe? Please let us know about it in the comments.

From the recipe archive, first posted 2012

Honey Mustard Chicken Recipe

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 45 minutes Yield: Serves 4-6.

If you don’t want to eat skin-on chicken, still cook the dish with the skin-on, even if you don’t eat it. The skin will protect the meat from drying out.

Ingredients 1/4 to 1/3 cup smooth Dijon mustard 1/4 to 1/3 cup honey 1 Tbsp olive oil 2-3 pounds chicken thighs (or legs) Salt 2 sprigs rosemary (or a generous sprinkling of dried rosemary) Freshly ground black pepper

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, whisk together the mustard, honey, and olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and taste. Add more salt and mustard until you get the flavor where you want it.

2 Salt the chicken lightly and lay the pieces skin-side up in a shallow casserole dish. Spoon the honey mustard sauce over the chicken. Place the rosemary sprigs in between the pieces of chicken.

3 Bake for 45 minutes, or until the thighs read 175° on a meat thermometer, or the juices run clear when the meat is pierced with a knife. Remove the casserole pan from the oven, use a spoon to spoon off any excess chicken fat that has rendered during the cooking.

Sprinkle some freshly ground black pepper over the chicken before you serve.

Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to the source recipe here on Simply Recipes. Thank you!

Links:

Chicken with Mustard Cream Sauce- from The Pioneer Woman

Sesame Shrimp with Honey Mustard- from Steamy Kitchen

Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken Kebabs- from A Farmgirl’s Dabbles

Honey Mustard Chicken Salad with Mango- from Whipped