Ever since I was little, baked ziti has been one of my favorite meals that my mom makes. Surprisingly though, I was a bit of a picky eater growing up and I would only eat the jarred tomato sauce with no chunks of tomatoes in it!

Within the past few years, my mom insisted that I try her signature ziti sauce that is full of Italian sausage, pepperoni, and a ton of delicious flavor! Of course, I loved it and haven't gone back to jarred sauce since. :)

However, if you have kids that are as I picky as I was, (or a husband who won't eat sausage!) then you can bake this dinner and substitute a jarred sauce for one of the dishes.

I also love that I can make the sauce and freeze individual portions for a quick meal on a busy night!

Total Time for the Sauce: 1 hour
Time (if using pre-made sauce): 25 minutes

Yield: 12 cups of sauce (makes 12 individual dishes of Baked Ziti)

Sauce Ingredients: 

• 1 pound bulk hot Italian sausage
• 6 ounces pepperoni (bagged or stick of pepp.), sliced thin and quartered
• 3 onions, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 (28 oz.) cans Italian style whole tomatoes, including juice
• 3 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste
• 1 Tablespoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried basil 

Directions: 

1. In a large pot (8 qt. or larger), start to brown the sausage and pepperoni, breaking up sausage as it cooks. When it is about halfway done, add the onions and garlic**. Continue cooking until the sausage is browned. Drain the fat from the pan.
2. Squeeze the tomatoes over the pot and add, along with the tomato juice. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and simmer on low for 45 minutes, covered.

**If you prefer to not have chunks of garlic, onions, or tomatoes in your sauce, you can pulverize in a food processor before adding.

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Baked Ziti Ingredients (for each individual serving):

• 1 cup Baked Ziti Sauce (above)
• 4 ounces cooked ziti noodles (according to package directions)
• 3-4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place noodles in an oven-proof baking dish. Pour sauce over the top and stir to cover all of the noodles**. Cover with cheese, all the way to the edges.
3. Bake 10 minutes or until cheese browns to your liking. Place baking dish on a plate and serve with garlic toast! Enjoy!

**If sauce is frozen, defrost in microwave and/or heat in a small sauce pan.


Source:  Lynnie's Homemade!

You want to know my key to a good marriage?

Knowing what your husband's favorite dessert is :)

For Mike, there are quite a few, but I know that a good Boston cream pie will always cheer him up!

He sent me on a mission to find a fantastic recipe that was one I could make pretty quickly.  I think by now you know my thoughts about boxed/canned desserts. I really love to use a boxed cake mix, but I have to make my own frostings. This recipe fits that perfectly!

Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Inactive Time: 1 hour
Bake Time: about 30 minutes

Yield:  1  2-layer cake

Ingredients: 

• 1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) vanilla pudding mix
• 1 cups plus 2 Tablespoons milk, divided
• 1 1/2 cups CoolWhip, thawed
• 1 box Betty Crocker Super Moist yellow cake mix
• (ingredients to go with cake mix)
• 1 oz. Baker's unsweetened chocolate
• 1 Tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar

NOTE: The yellow cake mix will make enough for two cakes. Each 9-inch round cake will be cut in half height-wise. I doubled the filling and glaze ingredients to make two cakes.

Directions: 

1. Prepare yellow cake as directed on the box in two 9-inch round pans. Cool completely.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together pudding mix and 1 cup milk for 2 minutes. Stir in the Cool Whip. This can be used right away on a cooled cake, or made in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
3. Gently, cut the cake into 2 even layers horizontally.
4. Stack cake layers on a plate, spreading the pudding mixture in between. 
5. Microwave the chocolate and butter in a microwaveable bowl on high for 1 minute or until the butter is melted. Stir until the chocolate is smooth. Add sugar and the remaining milk; mix well. Spread over the cake and refrigerate for 1 hour. (It's better to refrigerate, but I didn't have time when I served it--it was still perfect!)

Source: KraftRecipes.com