Guess who made a pizza today?

Bella and I took our first cooking class today...we made pizza at Whole Foods!  Bella's friend Max is in town from NH and met us there...they were both so excited to get things going!  They waited very patiently for the class to start...

The instructors did a great job showing the toddlers each step, from the flour all the way to the toppings - pepperoni, spinach leaves, shredded chicken, broccoli and mushrooms.  And a little tasting along the way never hurt anyone :)

 While we waited for them to cook, we had a "snack"...salad.

And then the pizzas arrived, fresh out of the oven!  They were delicious...we even brought most of it home for Daddy to try.  It was a success!  Can't wait to go to the next toddler cooking class.

My plans to go out to dinner changed, and since I hadn't taken anything out to defrost I knew I'd be throwing together a quick pasta meal.  I had some of my marinara in the fridge, along with lots of cheese (mozzarella, ricotta, and pecorino romano) so baked ziti (well, penne) was the call.

As long as you have good ingredients and a great sauce, the biggest novice can even make a great baked ziti.  It's all about the quality, as it is with most Italian dishes.  There aren't many Italian recipes that have a lot of ingredients...many are quite simple because you don't need much when the high quality is there.

Basically, you boil your pasta (I used a box of Dreamfield penne) until it's al dente, drain it and add it to a baking pan, which you should lightly coat with marinara.  I used an 8x8 pan since it was just the two of us - we ate half and saved the other half for another time.

Add the mozzarella and ricotta and toss it so that the cheese is evenly distributed throughout the pasta...then do the same with more of the sauce.  Top with grated cheese and more mozzarella.  Put it in a preheated 350 degree oven and let it bake for about 18-20 minutes.

Expecting more?  Nope, sorry.  That's it!

Oh, and don't forget to keep spreading the word about my giveaway...please "share" my Facebook page or email my blog link to your friends.  Less than 30 more fans are needed on my FB page before my next giveaway begins - which means it could be as early as tomorrow :)

Stay warm, everyone...we're hunkering down for another big snowstorm here in NJ!