Disclosure: I received this book for review. Post contains affiliate links; if you make a purchase, I may earn commission. Opinions shared are mine.
Starting the new year with fresh, delicious recipes makes me want to sing. My family easily falls into a menu rut, especially in the winter when none of us feels up to making a decision about meals. It’s so simple to get drive-thru, but we all prefer home cooking. Our family believes that we feel better when we eat at home, plus it’s more budget friendly! I was thrilled to check out Valerie’s Home Cooking by Valerie Bertinelli. Spending an hour with this cookbook is as cozy as chatting with an old friend.
The recipes in this cookbook are family friendly, with accessible ingredients and realistic prep times. My favorites were the slow cooker ideas. I use my crockpots all year ’round, but they’re quite invaluable during the school year. Being able to drop ingredients in the crock, turn the dial to low, and come home to the fantastic aroma of a delicious dinner…it’s really a blessing on a busy, exhausting work day. That’s why I chose Slow-Baked Pasta Bake as our sample recipe. I think it’s one that my family will really love. This summer, I plan to use lots of our garden harvest in recipes from Valerie’s Home Cooking!
Valerie Bertinelli is known for her charm and girl-next-door adorability.
It really comes through in her cookbook, with the anecdotes and musings she shares before the recipes. Fans of Rachael Ray and Trisha Yearwood will love Bertinelli’s easy, friendly way of cooking. Family recipes and holiday memories make these dishes feel, again, like visiting with old friends.
Valeries Home Cooking Photography Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling Margaret Dickey; Prop Styling Lindsey Lower
Slow-Baked Pasta Bake
Guest post from Valerie:
“I don’t mean to turn this into a confessional, but this dish came together because I saw a jar of marinara sauce sitting on the kitchen counter. Hey, inspiration comes in all shapes, sizes, and forms. But this is a traditional baked ziti with creamy ricotta and mozzarella, salty parm, and tender pasta, all just so yummy together, plus the carrots and zucchini. On occasion when I’m really busy, I’ll go to the grocery store and get vegetables already chopped, and throw everything into the slow cooker for a nice dinner later on. It’s a shortcut on top of a shortcut. I’m gentle when folding in the spinach, as the pasta could start to fall apart if you do this with hurried, crushing blows. Tom and I both like this with a fresh Caesar salad, but any crisp, cold, and simple green salad will go well with this dish.”
Slow-Cooker Pasta Bake
Serves 4 Hands-on 15 minutes Total 1 hour, 45 minutes
4 cups jarred marinara sauce
12 ounces uncooked ziti pasta
1 medium zucchini, cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
11/2 cups matchstick carrots
1½ cups ricotta cheese (about 12 ounces)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
¾ cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (2-ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
½ cup water
3 cups roughly chopped baby spinach
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1. Lightly coat a 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Add the marinara sauce, pasta, zucchini, carrots, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, olives, and water; stir to combine. Cover and cook on LOW until the pasta is tender, about 1 hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours.
2. Gently fold in the spinach until wilted. Spoon into serving bowls, and top evenly with the basil.
Excerpted from Valerie’s Home Cooking by Valerie Bertinelli. Copyright © 2017 Oxmoor House. Reprinted with permission from Time Inc. Books, a division of Time Inc. New York, NY. All rights reserved.
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Thanks to Time Inc. Books for providing me with this cookbook.
I love that Betty White reviewed her book! I love watching Valerie on the Food Network and look forward to trying some of her recipes.
I learned that Valerie personally selected every recipe in this book.
I watch her show (and love her as a host on the Kids Baking Championship) so I’m excited to check her book out.
I like the variety of yummy recipes in the book!
Lobster BLTs with a side of S’mores Popcorn need to be on the menu for my every meal now.
I love cookbooks like these that offer practical and nutritious meal ideas. I’ve wanted to make a pasta dish in the crock post and this looks like the perfect recipe start with. Thanks for sharing this one. 🙂
This looks like a yummy recipe! I’m going to give it a try on my family. Thanks for sharing this cookbook with a cookbook junkie.
Lots of great recipes and easy to make.
There are so many great looking recipes in this book to pick from. There are a few I know I will be trying!!
I like that there are over 100 recipes in her cookbook. Would love to have it.
I have always been a fan of Valerie!
But, had no idea she had her own show on food network.
I will look for it.
I learned that she was inspired by her family’s cooking legacy.
Love to cook!!
Love her show!
It sounds like reading this cookbook would be just like visiting her kitchen.
Looks like a great book! Thanks for the chance!
I’d like to try the S’mores Popcorn.
I like easy recipes and this fits in that category.
Saw Valerie on the chew last week..she has great healthy recipes so this cookbook would be awesome to win. Love @valeriebertinelli
I would like to have this book. The Quick Rotisserie Chicken Gumbo sounds interesting.
I love Valerie Bertinelli! I watch her cooking show all the time. She has some great recipes!
Looking good good food
this looks like an awesome book with lots of recipies!
I can imagine this is a great book. I love to see her on Food Network. She cooks like I do! I may just try this crockpot recipe above! Sounds good!
(Valerie Bertinelli Home Cooking: More than 100 Recipes to Share with Friends and Family) Wow! I did not even know that she had a cook book out. This is one cook book that I would want for sure.
The recipe looks really good. I saved it for future reference.