I Like to Bake and Cook Blog and more

Sunday, February 8, 2026

Rigatoni lasagna

It’s cold and our winter has been horrendous.

I haven't gotten out to shop so today’s Rigatoni lasagna was a quick decision.

I had HUGE RIGATONI that I planned on stuffing with ricotta but since hubby loves meat ravioli I am using all the ingredients for meat ravioli filling in this recipe.

Ingredients:

1-17 oz. package HUGE rigatoni(I had bought them at TJMAxx). Cook according to the directions. RINSE SLIGHTLY.

1 container (15 oz.)Skim milk ricotta (add dried parsley and some shredded mozzarella)

1 lb. Ground beef browned with salt pepper onion and garlic powder.

1/4 cup chopped frozen spinach (thawed) and drained well.

2 quarts marinara sauce

Pecorinos Romano cheese

In a large baking pan place some sauce, add half of par cook rigatoni

Sprinkle meat mixture around, top meat with seasoned ricotta then some marinara. Top with remaining rigatoni and cover all with marinara. Add as much mozzarella and pecorino as desired and refrigerate until

Ready to bake.

Remove from refrigerator about 1 hour before baking and bake @350° covered for approximately 45 minutes. Remove cover and bake longer if mozzarella is not melted about 10 minutes more.

Allow to rest for approximately 5 minutes and spoon or cut into square portions.

Enjoy!

FROM MY KITCHEN YO YOURS ,

Saturday, February 7, 2026

Vanilla cream / custard filled cake

My homemade cream/ custard is best.

Here’s the link;

https://iliketobakeandcook.blogspot.com/2024/12/coconut-cream-trifle.html

I box yellow cal mix baked according to directions

My pan was a 9.5 round cake pan 2.5” deep.

Greased and floured pan.

I baked it at 350° for 35 minutes or until

Toothpick inserted in center comes out clean .

When completely cooled slice across horizontal (two pieces)

Filling: 1- small package vanilla instant pudding and 2 cups milk. Whisk until

Blended and smooth. Set aside in refrigerator.

1 pint heavy cream

4 T powdered sugary

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

Beat with mixer until peaks form so it’s easy to spread.

Cover cake with whipped cream and top with a handful of coconut REFRIGERATE UNTIL READY TO SERVE.

Yummy yummy!

Monday, February 2, 2026

Sausage, Peppers and onions pockets

Simple sausage, peppers onions and mozzarella pockets.

Ingredients:

Approximately one(1) lb. Loose hot or sweet Italian sausage.

2 variegated peppers sliced. I small onion sliced.

Pinch or more shredded mozzarella cheese. Olive oil and seasoning on top.

Sauté sausage peppers and onions and drain well. Allow to cool thoroughly.

Make two balls out of dough. Roll each ball as thin or thick as you like on lightly floured surface. Fill center with cooled sausage and cheese mixture and shredded mozzarella.. Fold over and pinch sides well . Brush with olive oil and seasoning as desired.

Place on sprayed cookie sheet.

Bake 375° for approximately 15 minutes and until

Brown slightly.

Enjoy!

Separate dough into two balls. Roll each ball large enough for several tablespoons of sausage mixture. Brush with olive oil and seasoning.

M.j.

Sunday, January 25, 2026

Cheddar Broccoli soup

This recipe called for mashed potatoes as one of the ingredients. Fortunately I had all ingredients and was extra pleased at the results.

I was going to use my immersion blender but chose not to.

I adapted this recipe to my liking. My amounts of each ingredient were slightly less than this recipe and I added*** 1/2 cup American cheese and 1 cup shredded cheddar instead of all cheddar.

NOTE: I also added slightly less milk. About one cup instead of two was fine. Everything else was pretty much as called for. Note: I had store bought refrigerated mashed potatoes which were handy) Just a pinch of salt was necessary in my recipe.

Enjoy!