Cinnamon Loaf

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sour milk or buttermilk (to make sour milk, add 1 Tbsp vinegar or lemon juice to milk)

In a small bowl, mix cinnamon and brown sugar together and set aside. In large bowl, cream butter; beat in sugar to make a light and fluffy batter.

Beat in eggs and vanilla.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.


Stir into butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of sour milk. Spoon half the batter into a greased and floured loaf pan.

Sprinkle with 3/4 of the cinnamon mixture, then cover with the remaining batter and remaining cinnamon mixture.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes, or until loaf tests done.

What I did differently from the recipe:
I did a ratio for the cinnamon/sugar mixture of 1 tsp to 3 tsp instead of using a tablespoon, because I thought that would be too much.

What I'll do differently next time:
I'll probably do the cinnamon mixture with tablespoons instead of teaspoons. I think it would have made for a stronger taste in the middle of the bread when it was done, and I just didn't put enough in there to be able to fully taste it.

Verdict: Thumbs up!

Baked Ziti

No pictures for this recipe - it was gone too fast!

Ingredients:
12 oz uncooked ziti
1 tsp olive oil
2 minced garlic cloves
1/3 lb ground beef
1 tsp oregano, thyme and rosemary
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Cook pasta according to directions.

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, add garlic and saute 2 minutes. Add beef and cook until browned; drain fat.

Add oregano, thyme, rosemary, and salt and pepper; stir to coat beef. Cook about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 5 minutes.

Spoon a small amount of tomato mixture into the bottom of a casserole dish. Top with half of the cooked ziti and then layer with half of the remaining tomato sauce and half the mozzarella cheese. Layer remaining ziti on top and top with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake about 30 minutes.

What I did differently from the recipe:
I left out salt and pepper. I also used probably 1 1/2 - 2 cups of mozzarella cheese in the end. I didn't measure how much beef I used but I'm pretty sure it was more than 1/3 lb, too, because we like a lot of meat.

What I'll do differently next time:
I'll use less of the spices. Probably 1/2 tsp of each of those spices would be plenty to add flavor to the recipe. I also sprinkled Parmesan cheese on top after it came out of the oven and when serving, which I recommend highly.

Verdict: Thumbs up!