baked rigatoni.

remember how i dreamt about pasta?

well, after i woke up, i thumbed through the better homes and gardens cookbook my roommate left on our kitchen counter and found the pasta of my dreams. [and by pasta of my dreams, literally, i mean i found a pasta recipe exactly like what i had dreamt].

so i made it for dinner.

it was amazingly delicious for how simple it was to make. really. 

i have a fabulous cook of a friend who i wanted to try it so i could have an expert's opinion. he said he gave himself a stomach ache from eating it so fast - that's how good it was.

i also had the best intentions of taking some beautifully styled photos of the meal as well - which didn't happen. we ate it too fast. i was lucky i even got one. oh well, there's always next wednesday!

here's the recipe:

7 ounces dried cavatelli or wagon wheel pasta [i used rigatoni. which is why i changed the recipe name]

12 ounces uncooked italian sausage, sliced 1/2 inch thick

3/4 cup chopped onion [1 medium]

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 26-ounce jar pasta sauce

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese [or more than a cup. whatever]

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. cook pasta according to package directions. drain. set aside

2. in a large skillet, cook the sausage, onion, and garlic until sausage is brown. remove from skillet. drain. [my amazing cook friend told me that if you boil the sausage first, it is easier to slice before browning. i'll have to try that next time].

3. in a large bowl, stir together pasta sauce, 3/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese [or more than that], and the pepper. add the cooked pasta and the sausage mixture. stir gently to combine. spoon the mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish.

4. bake, covered, in a 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until nearly heated through [you'll know when it's ready because the edges will be bubbling]. uncover; sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese [or more than that - i like cheese. leave me alone]. bake about 5 minutes more until cheese is melted.

and voila - thank you better homes and gardens!

ps. you can still enter the giveaway below.

a giveaway: because i feel like taking pictures.

[i just used this picture because i thought it was funny].

my camera is getting dusty again. i have lots of people that tell me they need some pictures, and i even have a few sessions lined up in the next few weeks, but i feel like doing some pictures just for fun. 

so i'm giving away a photo session - any kind you want. family, kids, engagements, or just because you feel like you're good looking... everyone can use more pictures of themselves.

all you need to do is enter a comment below and i'll pick a winner randomly in a few days.

seriously.

if you live in the utah county area, that would be awesome...

or if you're in the bay area, california area that works too [i'll be visiting soon].

feel free to enter even if you live somewhere else. i could probably use a vacation.

this will be fun.

ready, set, go.

i decided to start posting paintings on mondays.

face of friday: my awesome mother.

 yesterday, my mom flew into utah for a weekend visit. and 9 days ago was her birthday. so i thought it would be more than appropriate to share what makes judy beck so awesome.

1. she gave birth to 7 pretty cool children - #6 being the coolest [me].

2. she has the best pie recipes ever. ever. and this woman does not hide her talents under a bushel. 90% of the city of fremont knows how awesome my mom's pies are. in fact, thanks to my mother, i thought giving pies to people was just a standard life practice. the first time i went to a boy's house for dinner i brought an apple pie - they laughed at me.

3. her lasagna recipe is pretty awesome too.

4. she's a pretty funny. and i know that she thinks a lot more funny things than she actually says out loud - she's just too nice to say them all.

5. she let's me complain about how hard i think my life is. and then tells me to keep pushing forward.

6. i'm pretty sure my mom is in better shape than i am. we went on a bike ride once and she pretty much kicked my butt. and that was when i was in high school. and i was skinny.

7. she's my most faithful blog reader.

8. she writes incredible poems and stories. i'm sure you'll see them around one day after someone figures out they need to be published.

9. she's always ready to have a good time and loves eating as much as i do.

10. she is a fabulous photo assistant. and a pretty decent model too.

11. she really is the most giving person i know.

love you mom :)

xoxo.

jana

when i get to have babies.

i will gladly take lots of boys.

like 4, maybe 5.

seriously.

sugar cookies.

as promised...

the most fantastic sugar cookies on the face of this earth.

you may have seen these before on my blog here or here. so i figured it was due time to share the recipe [the cookies in these other posts actually look better than the pumpkins. just sayin].

also, as promised, where they came from: a good church friend from california taught us how to make these when i was in high school - and i will love her forever.

deb child's sugar cookies

2 c. butter

1 1/2 c. sugar

4 egg yolks

2 t. vanilla

4 1/2 c. flour

icing

2 lb. bag of powdered sugar

3 T. powdered meringue

1 t. clear vanilla

1 t. butter flavoring

1/2 t. almond flavoring (optional)

for cookies:

first, cream butter and sugar. then, add egg yolks and vanilla. add flour to mixture gradually. the  dough will roll out best if it has been chilled for a few hours. roll out cookie dough to 1/4-1/2 inch thick, and cut into desired shapes. place cookies on a buttered cookie sheet or a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

icing:

mix ingredients. [seriously, that's about it]. Add water to the mixture incredible slowly, until the icing is at the proper consistency for piping through a bag - but it should still be pretty thick. then, feel free to add some color.

and here are some tips.

it's preferable not to do everything at once. when i try to finish these up all in one day, i start to go crazy and the icing job shows it. maybe make up the cookie dough one day and bake and frost them the next. or cook them with a helper - it makes life a lot easier.

i roll my cookies out thick - like 1/2 inch thick - before cutting the dough into desired shapes. they taste better that way.

watch your oven to figure out the exact cooking time. i take my cookies out when they just barely start thinking they want to look the least bit golden on the edges. they'll be softer and more awesome and last longer.

and here's the biggest tip of all - icing. it looks hard, right? wrong. use a piping bag to frost an outline on your cookie - i frost all of my outlines at once. then, thin the remaining icing with water [it doesn't take very much]. use this thin icing with a spoon to fill the inside of the cookies that have already been outlined - that's how the frosting gets so smooth. and if you have any piping icing left, use it for further cookie decoration.

let the icing dry overnight. trust me. then wrap them up, or serve them at a party and impress all your friends.

happy baking!

xoxo.

jana

if i'm a terrible instruction giver, please feel free to tell me and ask questions :)

get excited.

yes, i am up way too late.

i'm blaming it on the fact that i fell asleep on my couch today in the middle of the afternoon. i didn't mean to, i just did. 

and you know what i dreamt about? 

pasta.

i know, it was a little weird. but it made me want to cook. and take pictures of food. and share the love with you. which i'm going to do... starting tomorrow. 

here come recipes on wednesdays.

it's gonna be big.

xoxo.

jana

ps. i'm sure they're mostly going to be recipes i steal from other people. like my sister. but don't worry, i'll always tell you where they really came from.

pss. it's raining outside. i love it.

psss. yes, i wear animal prints. no, it's not always trashy.