How to Make the Perfect Three Cheese Ziti

Well my friends since this blog is about Love, Sex, and Life I figured I should include Cooking! After all cooking is an essential part of our lives. Hell, even if you can't cook you still throw together some mixture of ingredients to satisfy your hunger.

I realize that most of you probably can't cook! I used to be one of those people who had no interest in learning the culinary arts. I believed that fast food restaurants would save the day. This is a really bad attitude to have especially if you ever plan on having a family.

So to save most of you the embarrassment of not being able to prepare a simple meal, I decided that once a week I would post a how- to on a specific meal!

One thing you should know about my family is that we all love Italian food. Even my son Hunter has the taste buds for some homemade Lasagna or Manicotti! So you could imagine that cooking is pretty important in my family!

So this week's meal is Three Cheese Ziti!

So first things first, you will need:

2 cans of sauce(Your choice)
1lb of ziti noodles
1lb of Mozzarella cheese
1lb of Mild Cheddar
1 can of Mushrooms
1lb of Hamburger Meat
I can of Parmesan cheese
3 Tbsps. of butter
1 cup of water

First you want to get a skillet out and put the hamburger meat in it. Set it to med/high heat and put a lid on top! This helps cook the meat faster

Next you will want to get another skillet out and put 3 Tbsps. of butter in the pot. Put on Medium heat and continue to cook until the butter has turned into liquid. Then take and put the canned mushrooms in and cook on low medium heat.

Next you want to check on the hamburger meat...Stir and continue to cook until the meat is no longer red.

When the meat is done you want to drain the Grease.

Then get a large foil container and empty the first jar of sauce into it! Next add about 1 cup of water. This will help cook the ziti more while it is in the oven and prevent it from drying out.

Now you will check to make sure the mushrooms are done. They will be a little darker on the edges. You will drain any excess butter and then dump the mushrooms in the sauce along with the cooked hamburger.

Then you will get another pot(preferably a large one) and put water in it. You will want to fill the pot at least half way. Then you will set the heat on high and wait for it to boil. Once it is boiling you will put the pound of ziti noodles in and boil for another7 to 9 minutes.

While it is boiling, you will go back to the sauce and add half the bag of Mozarella cheese to it. Then you will add half the bag of Mild cheddar cheese to the sauce as well. After you have done that, you will add half a cup of Parmesan cheese to the sauce.

By then the noodles will be done. Remove them from the heat and put them in the strainer. Once they are in the strainer you want to run them under cold water! This stops the cooking process. Then you will dump them into the sauce you made earlier. (In the foil container) Once inside you will stir them up. Then you will add the last jar of sauce to the mix. Make sure the noodles are thoroughly covered in sauce.

Then you will take and put the remaining Mozzarella and Mild Cheddar cheese on top! And then finish it off with another half a cup of Parmesain!

Lastly you will pre-heat
the oven to 375. You will place the foil container in the oven and let it bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Depending on the strength of your oven you will need to check the progress of your masterpiece every 15 minutes. You will want to look for browning edges...this is a sign that it is complete.

Congratulations! You have just prepared Three Cheese Ziti like a pro!

Signing Off

Cooking and Happy!

Rachel Myrie