Entertaining

Five books to read while shelter in place

 in Entertaining / Home  tagged books / family / lifestyle by

5 books to read while sheltering in place

Do you always want to read a book, but find yourself complaining about not having the time to read one? Well guess what! Now you do! Since we are all staying home, social distancing, and sheltering-in-place, we have an increased amount of free time on our hands. Unless you are one of our community heroes at a grocery store, hospital, or other essential service. If you are an essential service employee, I salute you and I thank you for your dedication to the community. You are truly helping all of us get through this!

If you are like me, and are hunkered down at home, then you have time to read. After all, wouldn’t you like a reason to get off your screens? I would!

I am currently reading “Season of the Witch,” which is about how San Francisco shaped into the city it is today. As someone whose family has been in San Francisco since the gold rush, this is very interesting to me to read. While it’s opinion differs from those in my family who lived through it, it is an interesting read and perspective.

Another good read is “Modern Etiquette Made Easy.” This is a great book for seeing how etiquette plays out in our modern era. Many of us learned older versions of etiquette growing up, so this is a great way to see what’s new, and what’s still relevant. My teen girls really enjoy reading this book too. So if you have a teen, this is a great time to teach your teen modern etiquette through this book. even if you don’t have a teen, this is a fabulous read for any age. I believe it was written for adults like us. Love it!

Shop my favorite books to read while sheltering in place:

What are some of your favorite books to read right now?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

Baked Scallops recipe

 in Entertaining  tagged cathys original recipes / lifestyle / main dishes / recipes / seafood by

Now that we are sheltering in place, there is plenty of time to try new recipes! My family enjoys eating scallops, but I always cook them the same way; I sear them. I decided to try something new this time, I baked them.

Baked Scallops are delicious! This recipe was a home-run on the first try. It is really easy. So, if you like Scallops, this is an easy recipe to try. It’s much easier to bake them than sear them! Love that!

Ingredients:

  • Large Scallops-20
  • 8 pats butter
  • 4 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
  • Season to taste: Paprika, Lemon Juice, Basil, Salt

Preparation instructions:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 425, ensuring the rack is in the middle of the oven.
  2. Grab an 11×13 casserole dish and place 8 pats of butter, evenly spaced apart, in the casserole dish.
  3. Evenly space 20 large scallops in the casserole dish, ensuring the butter pats are spaced apart too.
  4. Evenly spread 4 tablespoons shredded Parmesan across the scallops
  5. Season to taste: evenly spread basil, salt, paprika and lemon juice on top of the scallops.

Baking instructions:

  • Bake at 425 for 16 minutes
  • Scallops should be white and opaque; 130 degree Fahrenheit internal temperature.

Serving instructions:

  1. Place scallops on dish. My kids typically eat 4 large scallops, while my husband will 6, and I eat 5. With a tablespoon, scoop up the buttery sauce in the casserole dish and pour it over the scallops on the plate.
  2. Serve with your favorite vegetable. We used frozen peas melted in butter because we are sheltering in place, and that’s what I had in the freezer. Under normal circumstances, I might serve with cauliflower, sliced cucumber, and/or peas. Peas are mild and sweet, so they do pair well with scallops!

Things you might need to make baked scallops for dinner:

If you want a side dish, try mashed potatoes or jasmine rice. You can pour the sauce from the casserole dish over the rice or potatoes. Yum!

This dinner felt fancy, and was a nice change during our shelter-in-place. Sometimes it is nice to treat yourself with good food when you are feeling down; like most of us are feeling during this unprecedented time.

Bon Appetite! I hope you love this dish as much as my family does 😊

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

Homemade Baked Ziti recipe

 in Entertaining  tagged casseroles / cathys original recipes / lifestyle / recipes by

If you have been reading here for awhile, you know I have three kids, and a very busy schedule. Types of casseroles are an important dinner option for me since they can be made ahead. Casseroles only need to bake in the oven when it’s time to cook dinner, so they are super convenient. This makes prep convenient with my schedule, and it makes feeding my family a home-cooked meal even easier.

My kids love pasta; don’t most kids? Since pasta is a huge hit at my house, and quite possibly yours, a casserole version is key on busy days. My homemade baked ziti recipe is both easy to make, and well loved by pasta-loving children. That’s win-win!

Homemade baked ziti is an easy and delicious casserole you can make on the spot, or ahead of time when your schedule gets the best of you. So without further ado, here is my homemade baked ziti recipe with instructions. I hope you love it as much as my kids do!

Homemade baked ziti ingredients:

  • 1 lb. Ziti pasta (you can substitute penne if your market doesn’t carry ziti)
  • 1 jar Rao’s Marinara (you can make your own, or use another brand, but this is the most authentic on the market, in my opinion-my ancestors are from Italy, so my family is used to authentic Italian food)
  • ½ cup chopped green onions
  • Sliced provolone cheese
  • ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • ¾ cup mozzarella
  • 2 pounds bulk Italian sausage, cook before mixing into casserole. (can substitute 1 pound ground beef and 1 pound ground pork if you don’t like sausage)

Homemade baked ziti cooking instructions:

Step 1: Cook pasta

Step 2: Mix pasta together with sauce and meat in a mixing bowl.

Step 3: Pour half of the mozzarella into the bowl and mix together.

Step 4: Pour half of the pasta mixture into the casserole dish.

Step 5: Cover the pasta mixture with the remainder of mozzarella cheese.

Step 6: Pour the last half of the pasta mixture on top.

Step 7: Smooth out the top of the casserole with a wooden spoon.

Step 8: Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of the casserole.

Step 9: Layer provolone cheese slices on top of Parmesan cheese.

Step 10: Top the casserole with green onions.

Bake 35 minutes at 350. Remove from the oven, serve, and enjoy!

There you have it! A really easy casserole the whole family can enjoy. It makes about twelve servings, so there is a good chance you will have plenty of leftovers to eat on another busy day, or bring to work for lunch. I hope you and your family, friends, etc love this homemade baked ziti recipe too!

Thanks for stopping by, and manjia tutti!

XOXO
Cathy