earlier in the day i had told my mom over the phone that we were having baked ziti for dinner - i went on and on about what a quick, simple, and tasty meal it was. if only i had known right then what i was in for...
let's take a moment to rewind. a week or two prior to last night's incident we were in need of another quick and easy meal and so we went for shells and sauce. for years i have been the master at draining my pasta and rinsing it in the pot it was cooked in - not needing to add in another dirty dish by using a strainer. well, i don't know what happened. i blame it on pregnancy brain. there i was draining the water from the shells when all of a sudden the lid slipped and the entire contents of the pot landed in the sink. my response... "oh no! i can't believe i just did that." fortunately the sink had been scrubbed clean that afternoon and so kevin encouraged me to pull out a colander, put all of the shells into it, and rinse them really well. so, i did. there they were (the shells) sitting nice and clean in the colander next to the sink - i had set them there while i reached for a plate. you know what happens next don't you? yup, i knocked over the colander and back into the sink they all went. i didn't cry - i just stared in disbelief. eventually we ate dinner that night and it was pretty tasty.
so, last night... i made baked ziti. i boiled the water. i cooked the ziti in the boiling water. i drained and rinsed the ziti successfully with the use of a colander. i put the ziti back into the pot it was cooked in. i added the sauce, the ricotta cheese, the pepperoni, some seasonings, and then mixed it all together. i poured it into a 9x13 and sprinkled the shredded mozzarella cheese on top. i covered the pan with foil and placed it in the oven to bake. home-free, right? totally in the clear? what could possibly turn this meal into a disaster? well, i'll tell you. taking it out of the oven could turn this meal into a disaster! i don't know what happened. i had pot holders on. i had a good grip on the pan, or so i thought. and there i was, staring at this full pan of baked ziti upside down against the oven door. my response... "oh no! what did i do?!" i couldn't just pick the pan up because all of the ziti would've fallen out. our only option was to slide it off of the oven door and catch it in another 9x13 pan and that's what we did. the ziti was saved, but you can imagine the mess on the inside of that oven door. eventually we ate dinner and it was pretty tasty.
my husband is so gracious!
