Spinach & Ricotta Stuffed Shells

I've made stuffed shells before, but these are different, these shells are the star of the show. You could pair them with a meat and serve the shells as a side or add meat to the sauce if you prefer. But I think these shells stuffed with spinach, Ricotta and Parmesan cheese, are the perfect dish for veggie night. Totally easy to make and about 45 minutes total prep and cook time. The sauce was store bought but enhanced with some fresh ingredients to cut down the prep and not loose the flavor. The filling has a rich ooey gooey goodness that I just can't resist. Enjoy!

Serves 4-6

The key players:

- 1 package of jumbo shells (cooked & drained)

- 1 jar of (good quality) red spaghetti sauce

- 4 to 6 button white mushrooms (diced)

- 1/2 a large onion (diced)

- 2 tbsp. garlic (diced)

- 20 oz. of Ricotta Cheese

- 1 cup of Parmesan Cheese

- 4 to 6 basil leaves (finely chopped)

- 1 cup of Mozzarella Cheese

- 1/2 a package of frozen Spinach (defrosted & drained)

- 2 tbsp. EV Olive Oil

- Salt & Pepper (to taste)

- 2 to sprigs of Italian Parsley (finely chopped for topping)

Begin by cooking the jumbo shells, cook the shells until they are still tough in the middle, and not quite al dente yet. Drain pasta and set aside. Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a pan on medium heat and saute the onion, basil and mushrooms with a pinch of salt and pepper. 

Add in the sauce and bring it to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook until needed about 15 minutes.

Place the spinach in a mixing bowl. 

Add in the Ricotta and Parmesan cheese, stir to combine. Give the mixture a taste and add salt and pepper as needed. 

Place a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch Pyrex (or oven safe) dish.

Using a teaspoon stuff the shells with the cheese mixture carefully. 

You want the shell to close so be careful not to over-stuff. 

Arrange the shells seam side down in the dish.

Ladle the remaining sauce on top of the shells.

Top the shells with the Mozzarella cheese and bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for twenty minutes. The shells will finish cooking and the cheese will get nice and gooey. 

Remove from heat and serve, garnish with freshly chopped Italian parsley if desired.

Lemon Bars

Today I wanted to make these Lemon Bars. About a week ago I was watching the Food Network and saw Paula Deen making Lemon Bars. Immediately I googled the recipe on the FN website and there it was! As with all the recipes I hijack, I never quite follow them to the letter, it makes the whole process much more exciting. Anyway the whole reason Paula Deen caught my eye the other day was because as I watched her on TV I could smell the lemons, lemons made me think of warm weather, which made me think of how nice the weather has been lately which then made me think I HAVE to make these in honor of the return of warm weather! Ladies and gentlemen the inner-workings of my mind. I digress, the bars were fantastic, enjoy!

Makes 12-15 Bars

The ingredient list:

- 2 cups of all purpose flour

- 1 cup of confectioner's sugar

- A pinch of salt

- 2 sticks of unsalted butter (room temperature)

- 3 large fresh lemons

- 6 tbsp. of all all purpose flour

- 2 cups of sugar

- 4 eggs

Begin by making the crust, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 13 x 9 baking pan. Then combine two cups of flour, confectioner's sugar and salt together.

Cut the butter into the flour.

The batter will be crumbly and flaky.

Using your hand press the batter down into the greased dish evenly.

Place into the oven and bake for twenty minutes. Meanwhile prepare the filling.

Combine the sugar, eggs, flour, the zest of one lemon and the juice of 3 lemons.

I measured exactly 10 tablespoons of lemon juice.

Whisk together until smooth and creamy. 

Pour filling into crust once it's ready.

Place the dish back in the oven for 25 minutes until the filling is set.

Remove from heat and let cool completely. Then cut into squares or triangles and dust with confectioner's sugar. Chill and serve cold.

Grilled Salmon Pesto Sandwiches

Well I did it again, I broke my no sandwiches for dinner rule. To be fair I did have to grill the salmon for this recipe, make the pesto (from scratch), toast the bread, and prep all the sandwich toppings. So technically I did cook, and technically the "no sammies for dinner" rule is my own, and I can make exceptions as I see fit. After all aren't rules meant to be broken?

Anyway these sandwiches were so fresh and toasty, the perfect sandwich to enjoy in the late evening sun. Total prep time About 30 minutes all together, fantastic!

Serves 4

The star ingredients are as follows:

- 4 large cloves of garlic (minced)

- 1/4 cup ground Parmesan cheese

- Pre-made Garlic Olive Bread (one loaf)

- 2. 25 oz. of pine nuts

- 1/4 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- Fresh Salmon Fillet (cut into four 6 oz. pieces)

- 1 cup fresh basil

- 1 large, ripe lemon

- butter (for toasting bread)

- salt & pepper (to taste)

Place the pine nuts, a pinch of salt & pepper and the basil into a food processor and pulse until combined.

Add in the Parmesan cheese and the olive oil. Pulse to combine and set pesto aside for use later, you will have prepared pesto left over, you can freeze it and use it another day.

Season the salmon with freshly ground black pepper, salt and the juice of one lemon.

Place the salmon on a hot prepared grill. The grill should be prepared by adding nonstick grilling spray generously, this will prevent your fish from sticking to the grill. 

While the salmon cooks cut your loaf in half then slice into sandwich size pieces.

Brush the bread lightly with butter then place on the grill to toast. I just love grill marks! Remove the bread once it has lightly toasted.

Remove the salmon from the grill when it is done, and cut into 6 oz. pieces.  If you have another lemon handy you can squeeze a bit of juice on the cooked salmon as well. Begin assembling your sandwiches by slathering a good schmear of pesto sauce to the bread, then add the salmon and top with whatever fresh toppings you like. I used simple butter lettuce and tomato, delish!

Roasted Tomato Gemelli

You may have heard this before, but I am a pasta freak! I love, love, love spaghetti, fettucine, angel hair, red sauce, white sauce, butter, pesto, the list goes on and on. I think the real appeal of pasta is that its fun, and sometimes we just forget that. Gemelli is such a fun shape of pasta to eat, even the littlest of mouths can not resist! Gemelli is basically two strands of pasta twisted together, the shape holds any sauce well, very similar to a rigatoni, which makes Gemelli a really functional pasta. The sauce I made for this dish is to die for. Seriously it is just delish! If there is anything you take away from this recipe, please let it be the sauce,with or without the mozzarella. Total prep time 40 minutes.

The key players are:

- One package of Gemelli (cooked & drained)

- One onion (diced)

- 1/4 cup of basil (chopped)

- 5 vine ripened tomatoes

- 2.25 oz. of pine nuts

- 2 tbsp. of garlic (minced)

- 8 oz. of fresh Mozzarella (chopped)

- 4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

- salt & pepper (to taste)

- 1/4 cup heavy cream

 - chopped Italian parsley (for topping)

Serves 4-6

First, preheat the oven to 420 degrees. Then slice the tomatoes in half, then arrange them cut side up on an un-greased cookie sheet.

Drizzle on olive oil (approximately 3 tbsp.), salt & pepper on the tomatoes.

Place the tomatoes in the oven for 15 minutes. 

While the tomatoes roast, heat a pan on medium high heat and toast the pine nuts.

Remove the tomatoes from the oven and gently place them into a blender. Blend until combined.

Add in the toasted pine nuts and blend until combined. Set sauce aside.

Meanwhile heat the remaining olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Add in the onions and cook until soft.

Add in the garlic and basil. Cook for an additional minute, stirring often.

Add in the tomato sauce and heavy cream. Cook for five minutes on medium heat.

Meanwhile chop the fresh Mozzarella into 1 inch cubes.

Add in the cooked Gemelli and toss in sauce. The pasta should soak up most of the sauce almost instantaneously.

Finally add in the fresh Mozzarella and toss the pasta until the cheese has melted. Remove from heat and serve, top with a sprinkling of chopped Italian parsley. Enjoy!

Simple Breakfast Burritos

I love breakfast burritos, particularly because I can take whatever ingredients I have on hand, throw them in a skillet, then pile 'em into a burrito and I'm done. These burritos took about thirty minutes to cook and assemble, which makes them the perfect go-to breakfast dish when time is an issue. I used regular flour tortillas so the burritos are a bit on the smaller size and hard to close up all the way. If you want to make BIG burritos you can use extra large tortillas, available at most grocery stores.

Serves 4 

The ingredient list:

- 5 eggs

- 1 cup of turkey sausage (if not using ground, coarsely chopped)

- 1 tomato (diced)

- 1 onion (diced)

- 1/4 cup of cilantro (finely chopped)

- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil

- 1 jalapeno (diced)

- 1/2 cup of green bell pepper (chopped)

- 1/2 cup of Monterey Jack Cheese (grated)

- salt & pepper (to taste)

- prepared or store bought salsa (for topping)

Begin by dicing your onion and peppers.

Heat the oil in a skillet on medium heat, add in half of the onions, all of the pepper and half of the jalapeno. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and cook until soft.

Meanwhile chop up 1 cup of sausage.

Add in the sausage and cook for another 2 minutes.

Beat 5 eggs in a mixing bowl, then add the eggs to the skillet.

Cook until the eggs are done, adding salt and pepper to taste.

In a small bowl combine the tomato, remaining onion, jalapeno and cilantro. Add salt to taste and set aside.

Warm up your tortillas in a pan.

To assemble, lay out one tortilla and add about 3 tablespoons of egg mixture.

Sprinkle on some cheese. The egg mixture is hot, so it should melt the cheese pretty easily making an ooey gooey filling to bite into.

Add on a teaspoon of the fresh tomato salsa.

And finally add a teaspoon of pre-made salsa. Roll up your burritos and enjoy, this dish is so simple and versatile, yummy!