I don’t know about you, but lately we have been eating out a lot less, which means I cook more at home. I like to cook, but sometimes the same tired recipes get old. I have about 15 meals that I rotate. Every once in a while I try new ones, some are keepers …. some are not!
I was excited to be involved with a new website that Kroger and ConAgra Foods were creating to help home cooks easily and quickly figure out what to make for dinner. The website address is https://giveeverynightnewflavor.com . I love it! They’ve made it so easy to use, you answer three questions and it provides you with recipe options. First you select the type of cuisine you want (Asian, Italian, Mexican or American) then how much time you want to spend making the meal and lastly, how many people you are serving. It kind of reminds me of a slot machine. It was fun to play around with it to see what it would come with. I think I entered every imaginable combination just to see what it would come up with.
Yesterday I decided to use the website to help me come up with something for dinner. I went to the website and found out just how useful this “recipe generator” was. I answered the three questions — I picked Italian as the cuisine type, thirty minutes or more for the time limit and then four or more for the number of people I would be serving. Then I clicked the “Find my meal solution” button and it quickly generated five recipes for me to choose from; Baked Ziti Casserole, Chilled Spaghetti Salad, Italian Style Salmon Packets, Pesto Pomodoro Chicken and Pizza Calzone Bake. There is a picture of each dish and some have reviews too. They all sounded good, I went with the Baked Ziti dish (recipe below). I printed off the ingredient list for my trip to the store. There are also a couple of nice features that come with the website, you can print or email the shopping list and from April 4th through April 20th you can load coupons onto your Kroger card for the ConAgra products used in your recipe.
Later that day I stopped by Kroger and purchased the ingredients that I needed to make the dish. It was easy and tasted great. I will use this helpful tool again and again. I hope they keep adding new recipes. Make sure you check my Whrrl for the full story with pictures.
Baked Ziti Casserole (from www.giveeverynightnewflavor.com)
Ingredients
- PAM® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
- 8 ounces dry ziti pasta, uncooked
- 1 pound ground sirloin beef (90% lean)
- 1 can (26 oz each) Hunt’s® Four Cheese Pasta Sauce
- 1 can (6 oz each) Hunt’s® Tomato Paste
- 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 8×8-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Cook beef in large skillet over medium-high heat 7 minutes or until crumbled and no longer pink, stirring occasionally; drain. Stir in pasta sauce and tomato paste until combined.
- Spoon 1/2 cup meat sauce into bottom of prepared dish. Top with half the pasta, half the remaining sauce and 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat layers, starting with pasta and ending with cheese.
- Bake uncovered 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.
I received compensation for this shop as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All opinions are my own.
