If you watch the Today Show, perhaps you’ve seen a cooking segment with the Scotto Family. Known for their NYC-area restaurant, the Scottos have made a name for themselves by cooking up delicious Italian feasts.
For those not in the NYC area, you, too, can indulge in the delicious Scotto recipes without lifting a finger—well, other than the ones turning on the oven.
Schwan’s, known for their home delivery service and those boxy yellow delivery trucks, offers Fresco by Scotto. The Fresco line offers a variety of frozen, family style Italian meals, the same ones for which the family is famous.
Always reluctant to go the frozen food route, our family gave Fresco a try, courtesy of Schwan’s. We were treated to the new Baked Ziti, which is part of Fresco by Scotto. And by the way, when I first opened the package from Schwan’s I was amazed at the packaging; all of the food managed to arrive entirely frozen, including the ice cream they sent for dessert.
This entree, which is said to be a Scotto family recipe, was made with three cheeses (Ricotta, Mozzarella and Parmesan) baked with ziti pasta and a hearty tomato sauce. Best of all, it was ready in about 30 minutes.
Obviously, not the healthiest of meals, but I loved the convenience of this alternative to other prepared foods. It was a delicious change of pace to our Friday night pizza and quite timely for our meatless meal in observance of Lent.
Cooking the food was a breeze. I just threw the meal into the oven and it was done in 30 minutes or so. The cheesy garlic bread was just as easy to pop in the oven for a few minutes. And the broccoli they sent, we steamed it in the microwave for a super-quick side dish.
