I'm pretty certain my youngest step-daughter made us the best baked mac & cheese recipe ever for dinner last night!  

She searched Googled and stumbled upon a recipe featured on CHOW from a restaurant in California called Homeroom, turns out making Mac & Cheese is their specialty. I might book a vacation for us to Cali just to go to this magical mac & cheese restaurant! 

We couldn't locate the grated Pecorino Romano cheese (well, because I just realized we were looking in the wrong place!) that the recipe called for, so instead we used a shredded Italian blend that included Romano. It still turned out really amazing, and who knows maybe it turned out even better than the original recipe! 

You start the recipe by making a white sauce, called a béchamel. Next you stir in your measured amount of cheeses (grated Romano or shredded Italian blend plus shredded aged sharp cheddar) and cook over medium heat until melted. Then you pour in the cooked macaroni, mix together, pour it all into a baking dish, top it off with Panko bread crumbs and bake it in the oven to complete the recipe. (You could also serve as is instead of baking it, but then it wouldn't be called baked mac & cheese!)

Ingredients: 

For the Béchamel

• 4 cups whole milk
• 8 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp kosher salt

Other Ingredients: 

• Kosher Salt
• 1 lb elbow macaroni
• 3 cups shredded 6 months aged sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese
• 2/3 Panko bread crumbs 

Directions: 

For the Béchamel

1. Heat milk in medium saucepan over medium-high heat until it comes to a simmer, turn off heat and set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, melt unsalted butter over medium heat. Add flour and whisk for about three minutes or until the mixture turns into a light brown color.  Remove from heat.
3. While whisking, slowly add the hot milk to the flour mixture until combined. (It may look thick when first added, but will thin out.)
4. Return the saucepan to medium heat and continue to whisk. Cook until the sauce thickens, about three minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of salt and season with additional salt if needed. Remove from heat and set aside.

To Complete the Recipe:

1. Place your oven rack in the middle and pre-heat to 400°F.
2. Back to the top of your stove, cook pasta in boiling salted water until it just about reaches al dente,  drain and rinse with cold water, and set aside. 
3. Place the saucepan of béchamel over medium heat and stir in both cheeses until melted. Pour in the pasta and continue cooking for about four minutes, stir occasional until the pasta is heated through. Next, pour all ingredients into a 3-quart baking dish, top off with Panko bread crumbs, and bake for about 30 minutes or until brown on top. 
4. Remove from oven, let cool for a minute or two and enjoy!

Recipe modified from CHOW

Do you have a go to mac & cheese recipe? I would love to hear about it and try it out, well let my step-daughter try it out while I assist! 

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget tomorrow is my first featured guest blogger in my new Love Your Body series, come back to show support for blogger Just Plain Marie. 

10 New Ways to Mix Up Your Popcorn

Who knew there were so many interesting ways to mix up your popcorn?! I've been noticing a lot of fun popcorn recipes on Pinterest lately so I thought I would share with you a few of my favorite ones. I've also included a popcorn recipe I made, it's nothing fancy, but it will definitely give a spicy kick to your popcorn flavor! 

Check out these 10 New Ways to Mix up Your Popcorn and tell me which recipe is your favorite... 

Making Monday Easier with Manwich

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Manwich. All opinions are 100% mine.

Monday afternoons are pretty busy in our house. The hubs starts his daily routine to get ready for work, while I put together his thermos full of coffee and cooler full of good eats for his lunch. My youngest step-daughter gets in from school and then off to work, and when her sister lived here she would get ready for work at the same time as well! How do you make a quick, but filling dinner when everyone is in a rush for the door? You make Manwich recipes, of course! 

I grew up eating Sloppy Joes, but haven't tried the Bold or Thick & Chunky style Manwich flavors before and was excited for everyone to try them. 

I love that I can share my favorite memories of what my mom made for me as a kid with my step-kids and make new memories with new Manwich Mondays Recipes.

You really can't beat how it easy it is to make Sloppy Joes! While everyone was running around the house getting ready I whipped up a tasty dinner in less than 20 minutes, making sure that they actually sat down to eat before they left for work. 

After sharing my favorite go to Manwich recipe for Sloppy Joe with the kids last week, I was looking forward to trying the next recipe I had in mind using the Bold flavored sauce.

Not that I had to wait until a Monday to make them, but I knew that today was going to be extra busy since I have to get ready for my women's group business meeting while everyone else will be getting ready for work! 

If you haven't tried the Bold flavor yet, it is a must! It smells so good and taste like smoked BBQ thanks to the mesquite natural flavor that's in the Manwich Bold ingredients. 

I'm so glad I decided to make Manwich taco roll ups with the Bold flavor, they were a big hit with everyone, and again very easy to make for a busy Monday afternoon. 

Manwich Taco Roll Up Recipe Ingredients:

• 1 lb Lean Ground Beef
• 15.5 oz can of Manwich® Bold flavor
• Roll Ups 
• Spinach 
• Shredded Cheese
• Cherry Tomatoes - Sliced 

Directions: 

• Cook ground beef in large skillet on medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes or until no longer pink. Stir occasionally. 
• Drain the beef and add in Manwich® Bold flavor sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. 
• Rinse and dry spinach before placing it on the roll up
• Add sliced cherry tomatoes
• Top off with your Manwich® Bold ground beef and shredded cheese, roll up and enjoy!

You can get so creative with Sloppy Joes, what are some of your favorite recipes to make with Manwich® for busy, crazy days? 

Stop by the ConAgra Foods website to find stores near you that carry Manwich®! 

For even more tasty recipe ideas sign up for the ReadySetEat enewsletter

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day! 

Meatball Tortellini Soup - A Hearty Holiday Recipe in Minutes

Thank you Mezzetta for sponsoring this post and inspiring me to make a new holiday twist on an old classic recipe!

I'm so excited to share my very first soup recipe with you guys today, especially since my mom makes one of the best homemade chicken noodle soups around. But this isn't mom's soup, this is a new take on an old classic and a new holiday recipe I'm making with Mezzetta. Do you guys think it will beat out mom's chicken noodle?! 

How gorgeous are the bright colors of Mezzetta's products, they're so pretty to look at just sitting in the jars! I love roasted bell peppers so I grabbed those right away, then I called my husband to find out if it was green or black olives that he liked, and as you can see he likes the green ones! I was intrigued by the peperoncini and decided to grab those as well!

When I looked at the peppers and olives I purchased, the first recipe that came to mind was a pasta salad. But that just didn't strike me as a cozy and warm holiday recipe that I would want during this time of year.

Winter always reminds me of mom's chicken noodle soup, but that takes too much time to make when you have guests over for the holiday season. That's when I thought of the frozen meatballs and tortellini I had in the freezer....and on came the light bulb! 

Holiday celebrations and holiday family gatherings usually last more than one day, especially when your guests have traveled far to visit. So that means you're going to need more than a day's worth of food to feed them. Luckily I'm here to save you and your hungry guests with my meatball tortellini soup featuring Mezzetta roasted bell peppers, peperoncini, and olives! {Not the typical ingredients for meatball tortellini soup, but I was excited to experiment and make a Mezzetta twist on an old favorite!}

If you love making holiday soups, platters, and dips for your family, and have tons of holiday memories filled with good food, stop by Mezzetta to enter their daily holiday memories gift basket giveaway.  

Bonus: Before you go shopping to gather the ingredients for my meatball tortellini soup, stop by the Mezzetta website and grab yourself a coupon! 

Recipe Ingredients: 

2 cups of frozen meatballs {thawed} 

3 cups of tortellini 

4 cups of beef broth {you can also use chicken or vegetable broth}

1/2 cup of green olives {sliced or diced}

1/2 cup of roasted bell peppers {diced}

1/2 cup of peperoncini {sliced}

1/2 tsp. of parsley 

dash of salt & pepper 

Directions: 

• In a large pot bring the stock to a boil. Stir in the meatballs. Turn down the heat and let simmer for five minutes. 
• Add in the green olives, roasted bell peppers, and peperoncini. Simmer for another three minutes. 
• Stir in the tortellini, parsley, salt, and pepper. Simmer for another three to five minutes. 
• Remove from heat, serve, and enjoy! 

Mezzetta has a meatball tortellini soup on their website featuring their hot cherry peppers and garlic everything spread that I can't wait to try next time around.

You really can't go wrong with adding any of your favorite vegetables to meatball tortellini soup, or even using chicken sausage instead of meatballs.

Do you have a favorite soup recipe that you make during the holiday season? 

Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies

I bought a can of Pumpkin puree a month ago and had been searching high and low for the perfect recipe to use to make something special for my Pumpkin Craft Night. Did I want to make pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, or something else? When it finally came time to make a treat for the craft night I wasn't up to making something with too many ingredients or steps. Luckily that's when I stumbled upon Desiree's three ingredient pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe on The 36th Avenue! 

Three ingredients, I can handle that...right?! Well, I actually used five ingredients, two are optional as you'll read below. Are you ready for these amazing, delicious, I want to eat the entire batch in one sitting, cookies?! 

I bet you are trying not to lick the computer screen right now, aren't you?! 

Pictured with the pumpkin spice chocolate chip cookies are the three main ingredients that Desiree mentioned on her recipe post. I included her one optional ingredient, brown sugar, but also added a few dashes of pumpkin pie spice to the batter as well. 

I figured the pumpkin pie spice would add a bit more pumpkin taste to the mix, plus I hadn't used it in a recipe yet and wanted to test it out! These cookies were so easy to make and would be a great recipe to introduce to your kids when they start to get interested in helping mom out in the kitchen. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 box of Spice Cake 
• 1 large can of Pumpkin Puree 
• 1 bag of chocolate chips 

Optional 

• Brown Sugar 
• Pumpkin Pie Spice 

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Combine the spice cake mix (no eggs, water or oil needed) and pumpkin puree in a large mixing bowl.  
• Add a few dashes of pumpkin pie spice. 
• Mix in the chocolate chips 
• Using a table spoon place the batter on a cookie sheet. 
• Sprinkle brown sugar on top of each cookie. 
• Bake for 7 to 10 minutes depending on your particular oven.

The cookies are a bit softer than your average chocolate chip cookie, but should be firm. 

I hope you enjoy making and eating these cookies as much as I did. They were a big hit during the pumpkin craft night, which I will have more details and photos from on the blog tomorrow so stop back. 

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day! 

Our Love Story: It Started with HELLO!

This post is sponsored by Lindt but all opinions of their delicious chocolate are my own!

I often talk about my husband and how he helps me with my DIY projects, mentioned things we enjoy doing together, places we visited, and have blogged about our wedding and anniversaries, but I have never really shared our love story before. 

Back in 2005 I started a new job as a data entry clerk and met the man I was going to marry. It's crazy to think that next year we'll be celebrating ten years together and five years married, how time flies when you're in love!

This adorable interactive web-series from Lindt Hello titled, "It Started with Hello", featuring office mates Eva and Jude reminds me of how Mike and I met at work and makes me wonder how things would have turned out if he didn't say hello. But it also makes me think back to that moment when he did and what it was about him that made me say hello back! Can your life really change with one hello?

I bet it can change with one hello when you have Lindt Hello chocolate!

 There are so many ways to break the ice when you want to spark up a conversation, whether it's a romantic one, the beginning of a friendship, or when you're new in an office. You could pay them a compliment, find out if you share common interests, get flirty, or hand them a fun new Lindt Hello chocolate bar that will do all the work for you with it's creative and catchy "Hello MY Name Is..." packaging.

How cute are these candy bars?! They actually say "Hello" and "Nice to Sweet You" on the chocolate bar pieces. If these were out when Mike first said hello to me, I would have adored him even more! Actually, come to think of it he did win me over with food! I worked second shift and right around dinner time he returned to the office from his deliveries and ordered us a pizza....swoon! He said it was for everyone in the office, but I know he really did it so he could stay longer and we could have dinner "together".

 As you can see I was very excited to try these out and purchased one of each flavor, which were inspired by classic desserts. If you love cheesecake then you are going to fall in love with the Strawberry Cheesecake chocolate bar, it's so smooth and creamy! The other flavors are Caramel Brownie, Crunchy Nougat, and Cookies & Cream, and are just as amazing as the Strawberry Cheesecake!

What I love about the Lindt Hello besides the taste and fun packaging, is the range of sizes they come in. You aren't stuck with just trying to sneak a big candy bar on your co-worker's desk when you're trying to be flirty. You can grab an assorted mini-stick bag instead and drop a little hint of hello on their desk when they step out of the office! But if you really want to be someone's best friend, I'd go with giving them a six piece Lindt Hello chocolate stick, which is a great way of indulging in chocolate without going overboard....and is best friend approved!

Is there someone in your office or already in your life who you would love to share a Lindt Hello chocolate bar, stick, or mini stick bag with? If so, then stop by the Lindt Hello website for your chance to win one of five prizes...


To enter the sweepstakes, visit the Lindt HELLO Sweet Connections Sweepstakes Landing Page and enter your email address. Entries can be made daily for additional chances to win the below prizes.

5 Weeks of Prizes – Connect with Someone You Love, or Someone New!

Week 1: Table for Two (9/10 – 9/16)
• Dinner & a movie with the +1 of your choice!

Week 2: Double the Fun (9/17 – 9/39)
• Say HELLO to a fun double date night + Lindt HELLO chocolate for dessert

Week 3: Girls Just Want to Have Fun (9/24 – 9/30)
• Enjoy a shopping spree with the girls + yummy Lindt HELLO Chocolate!

Week 4: Sweet Staycation (10/1 – 10/7)
• Lindt HELLO treats you to a pampered night in – movies, books + chocolate!

Week 5: Besties Reunion (10/8 – 10/14)
• Reconnect with your bestie at the spa for a day + Lindt HELLO chocolate to sweeten the deal.

* No purchase necessary. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. & D.C., 18 years or older (19 in AL or NE and 21 in MS).  Void where prohibited. See Rules at  for weekly sweepstakes entry periods, prize descriptions, odds and other details. Ends Noon on 10/14/14. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: Lindt & Sprüngli (USA) Inc., One Fine Chocolate Place, Stratham, NH  03885.

More on our love story to come next time, as they say, to be continued....

Date Night & Family Night Made Easy with Chili's® At Home

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Chili's® At Home and Bellisio Foods, but all opinions on how delicious the meals were are 100% mine! 

When you have a busy schedule date nights aren't easy to plan, but thanks to Chili's® At Home frozen meals we can now enjoy one of our favorite restaurants without even leaving the kitchen! Well, I did have to go grocery shopping first, but I can do that without the hubby. 

I picked up two Chili's® At Home meals, one for us to enjoy during a romantic date night and another for all four of us to try (hoping our teens would like the choice I made!). If you have picky kids, no need to worry here...what's not to love about chicken and rice?! Plus they have plenty of other kid friendly options to choose from like Bacon Mac 'N' Cheese, Seasoned Chicken Bites with Honey Chipotle Sauce, Pepper Jack Mac 'N' Cheese, Nacho Potatoes with Beef & Bacon, and many more. 

Okay, enough about the kid friendly flavors, let's get back to date night! The big and bold flavors of the chicken fajita rice filled the air as soon as I opened the bag. It's actually one of Chili's® BOLDEST At Home meals to choose from according to the bold meter on the back of the package, and I totally agree! The aroma of the fajita sauce was so amazing I felt like I was sitting in Chili's® Restaurant while enjoying the comforts of home.

Chili's® fajitas are a favorite menu choice of mine and now I get to enjoy the bold taste of them at home without worrying about dressing up for date night...sorry honey! So, is your go to selection from Chili's® menu now available for you to enjoy during date night at home? Check their website and enjoy a coupon to use, then come back here to tell me about your favorite meal! 

Up next was the chicken bacon ranch frozen meal that we enjoyed together as a family (I cooked two meals in one week, go me!). I really love the variety of sizes and flavors Chili's® At Home has to choose from, plus a frozen meal with broccoli in it is on top of every mom's shopping list! 

The girls were really impressed with this meal, I may have loved the fact that it included broccoli but they loved that it had bacon in it! 

Date night was made easy thanks to Chili's At Home and so was family night, these are definitely frozen meals I'll buy again. You really can't go wrong with a one pot/pan meal...I know they're my favorite, how about you? 

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day! 

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Chili's® At Home and Bellisio Foods, but all opinions on how delicious the meals were are 100% mine! 

Zucchini Recipe Round Up...obsessed with this veggie much?!

As if you weren't tired of my zucchini posts already, today I have a zucchini recipe round up for you! You know you're obsessed with this awesome vegetable when your friends start tagging you in recipe posts they find on Facebook! Would you believe that we just received another large zucchini from our neighbor's garden...

Well another zucchini means more recipes to find, so that's why I thought it would be a good idea to put together a Zucchini Recipe Round Up...

I'm not sure if there are other recipes out there that can top the three I've tried already, but I'm willing to do a taste test! If you missed out on these great zucchini recipes I featured check them out at the links below...

Ziti with Chicken Sausage and Zucchini

Baked Zucchini Fries and Dipping Sauce 

Banana Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins 

Today I'm going to the sweet side again with zucchini and baking chocolate zucchini bread. This won't be my first time making bread, I've pretty much mastered banana bread, but it will be my first time making chocolate bread....with shredded zucchini! 

{Chocolate Zucchini Bread by Six Sisters' Stuff}

I was looking for a recipe that didn't call for too much and included ingredients I already have on hand. Fingers crossed that this turns out as good as it looks in Six Sisters' Stuff's photo! PS, I'm not using chocolate chips in my recipe since they tend to get too gooey in everything I bake! 

I really loved the baked zucchini fries, still one of my favorite ways to cook zucchini. But, another popular way of making them instead of going the "fry" way that I want to try is to cook them chip style...

{Zucchini Chips Four Ways by The Copper Collective}

These all look so good, I need to get some chipotle powder because that just sounds amazing. 

OK, if your mouth wasn't watering already, take a look at these...

{Meat, Tomato, and Mozzarella Stuffed Zucchini Cups by Kalyn's Kitchen®}

My parents used to make stuffed peppers all the time, a recipe I have yet to try on my own. But perhaps I can make my own version of their stuffed peppers with zucchini! 

Well, now I have just seen it all; zucchini waffles...say what?! Yep, ZUCCHINI WAFFLES....

{Zucchini Waffles by The Law Student's Wife} 

I wonder if my husband would be interested in trying these....we do have a waffle maker! So far we've made banana and blueberry waffles, but I would love to try something more savory, then I won't feel so bad when we have waffles for dinner! 

Hmm, should I make the chocolate zucchini bread today or this delicious looking spiced zucchini cake...

{Spiced Zucchini Cake by My Baking Addiction} 

Fall is almost here and lately it feels like it already is here (it was 48 degrees at 7 am last Saturday!). Plus, did you hear that Starbucks is bringing out their Pumpkin Spice Latte earlier than planned for people who participate in their Twitter challenge! So, with Fall on the brain I am ready for this Spiced Zucchini Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting, who's with me?! 

Okay, I'm off to bake some zucchini goodness, I hope you enjoyed my zucchini recipe round up and stop back to let me know if you try any of these! 

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day! 

Waking Up with Banana Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

From savory to sweet, zucchini isn't afraid to go in either direction! Now that I've cooked it both ways, could I tell you which style I prefer? Well, as long as the final results are tasty and edible, what's not to like...right?! I really enjoyed (more like devoured!) the baked zucchini fries and dipping sauce, but could also wake up to a cup of coffee and these delicious banana zucchini chocolate chip muffins any day! Zucchini muffins for breakfast then zucchini fries for lunch...hmm that might be too much zucchini, even for me! 

I know I promised you this recipe last week, but we're in the middle of downsizing and getting things ready for a garage sale, sometimes life gets in the way of blogging y'all! 

Are you guys ready for a serious confession here?! This was my very first time using a food processor....gasp! My mom bought it for us a few months ago, and while my husband has been using it to make shredded hash browns, I have been contemplating what to use it for. True Story! But, oh how I love using it now since shredding my zucchini, who wants to give me some food to process?! 

I searched on Pinterest for zucchini muffin recipes and saw many that were just chocolate chips and zucchini, but I was hoping to find something that was more interesting. That's when I spotted the name of this one from Peanut Butter and Peppers blog and fell in love! Okay, maybe not love...well, what's not to love about bananas, zucchini, and chocolate chips all rolled together into a muffin?! 

I'm not really sure what was going on with the shape of my muffins (okay, don't go there!), but little weird tops aside, the overall taste was amazing. I was impressed with how moist they turned out, no one likes a dry muffin! 

Our oven temp is a little kooky and likes to spike up in the middle of cooking, which may be the reason for the gooey looking chocolate chips. Next time around I may reduce the number of chips I put in the recipe so I can taste more banana and zucchini and not just melted chocolate. I know what you're thinking, "Did she just say less chocolate taste and more zucchini and banana?" You must think I'm crazy!

Stop by Peanut Butter and Peppers blog for this recipe and many more. She recently posted a baked pickle recipe, and here I thought zucchini was an interesting food to test out with fun recipes! 

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

Lunch Date with Baked Zucchini Fries and Dipping Sauce

I'm on a zucchini roll y'all! Last week I shared an on the whim ziti zucchini recipe I cooked up and mentioned a baked zucchini fries recipe from Inspired by Charm that I was hoping to try. Well, I didn't just pin this recipe and say, "Yeah, maybe one day", I actually made baked zucchini fries! PS, I posted them on my Instagram page and tagged Michael from Inspired by Charm...and he left me a comment!

I have to warn you first if you are thinking about making this recipe, the fries and dip are addicting! 

You first start off with your zucchini chopped into sticks. You want them to be thick enough to absorb the Panko mix after dipping them into the egg.

Michael recommends spraying your baking sheet with cooking spray, which I didn't but should have. I thought they would be okay since I was covering the cookie sheet with aluminum foil, wrong! Some of the fries stuck to the foil a bit, so if you cover your sheet with foil like I did make sure to spray the foil...lesson learned here folks!

The dip he included with his recipe is amazing, I couldn't get enough of it! If I didn't eat the entire plate by myself, with a few leftover for my husband to try, I bet I could have gotten my step-daughters to fall in love with zucchini as well. This zucchini recipe is a great way to introduce your kids to vegetables they haven't tried before, plus what kid wouldn't love green fries!? 

Stop by Inspired by Charm for the complete recipe and come back here on Friday for a banana zucchini chocolate chip muffin recipe from Peanut Butter and Peppers blog that I'm going to share with you!

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day! 

Ziti with Chicken Sausage and Zucchini

 I was inspired to get creative with new recipes a few days ago when our neighbor gave us two large zucchinis from their garden. I enjoy eating zucchini, but have never actually cooked with it. Growing up, I loved the zucchini bread my mom made, a recipe I'll have to ask her for, and didn't mind eating zucchini when it was in a vegetable medley. I shared a photo of my zucchinis on Facebook and asked my friends if anyone had a favorite recipe to use them in. I couldn't believe the response...I have been missing out on the zucchini recipe craze!

Here are my zukes (as a friend on FB called them!)... 

A popular way of cooking zucchini is to just slice and cover with Parmesan cheese and crust them with Panko bread crumbs, like this baked "fry" recipe on Inspired by Charm. Looks and sounds amazing, right?! I plan on making them this weekend, I'm telling you my family is going to be sick of zucchini for a while after trying all of these recipes! 

I wanted to experiment first before getting all fancy, so I took a look in my cabinet to see what I had on hand. I was thinking pasta, but didn't want spaghetti. Luckily, I had an extra box of ziti that I purchased when I made my mom's baked ziti recipe two months ago! I planned on making the baked ziti again since everyone loved it, but never got around to it.

I also had three half packs of Aidells chicken sausage in the fridge (total of about 7-8 links); Mango, Italian Style with Mozzarella Cheese, and Habanero & Green Chile. We love cooking with these for any meal, even breakfast! The sausage links are fully-cooked, so you don't have to worry about under cooking them.

How delicious does the chicken sausage look? I love that you can see the mozzarella and other ingredients when you slice it. 

I sliced the zucchini in half, then started to cut the halves into quarters but thought they looked too small. I didn't slice up too much of the zucchini since I was only experimenting with this dish.

I'm not a food blogger, well really I blog about anything...but I'm not a "foodie", so I don't think about taking photos of my food until later on. That's why you're looking at an iPhone shot of my dish, still looks tasty right?! 

As you can see I added red tomato sauce to the recipe, we love Classico® brand whether it's red or white sauce. Then I topped the dish off with shredded mozzarella and dinner was served! 

When my neighbor offered us zucchini my husband said he wasn't a fan, but knew that I would enjoy cooking with it. Well, I may have changed his opinion with this recipe, he couldn't keep his fork out of the pot! 

Ingredients: 

• 1 lb of Ziti (or pasta of choice)
• zucchini (sliced)
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1-2 packages of fully-cooked chicken sausage 
• dash of pepper
• red tomato sauce
• shredded mozzarella (for topping)

Directions:

• Cook pasta as directed in a very large pot.
• Slice up zucchini and chicken sausage to your liking.
• Add olive oil to a large sauce pan, warm to medium heat. 
• Toss in your zucchini and dash them with pepper, then add in the sausage. (you may need to cook the sausage first then remove it to add in the zucchini if you don't have enough room.) Use the same pan to absorb the sausage flavor into the zucchini. 
• In a medium sized sauce pot heat the red tomato sauce on low-medium heat. 
• Drain your ziti and add heated sauce to the ziti pot. Then add in your cooked zucchini and chicken sausage. Mix well and plate. 
• Top off your plate with shredded mozzarella and enjoy! 

Thanks for stopping by today, would love to hear a few of your favorite zucchini recipes. 

Have a great day!