Stuffed Shells

Yum!!! This was so delicious.  Serious comfort food.  I think I might even like stuffed shells better than lasagna (what?! you say)  I know! But they are really good, fun to make and something about them just makes me like really happy.  But I am easily pleased.  I adapted this recipe from one I found on the pioneer woman's site.  I didn't have any fresh basil, which she uses in her filling, and probably would have been awesome, but it didn't really suffer.  Brandon and I got 3 dinner's and a lunch out of this dish (and we ate a lot so normal people might get even more!).   Here's how you make this.

Ingredients:

8 oz jumbo pasta shells

Filling:

30 oz (weight) whole milk ricotta cheese
8 oz (weight) grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cups grated Romano cheese
1 whole egg
2 T. minced parsley
(12 basil leaves, chiffonade)
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:

2 T. oilve oil
1/2 whole medium onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pounds italian sausage
(1/2 cup red wine) (optional - I did not use)
1 whole 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 whole 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 T sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
generous pinch hot red pepper flakes
2 T. minced parsley

Instructions:

1.  Cook pasta shells for half the cooking time.  Drain and rinse with cold water and set aside.

2.  Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat, add onions and garlic and saute for a few minutes, until unions are soft.

3.  Add italian sausage and brown, breaking up into small pieces with a flat wooden spoon.

4.  Add crushed tomatoes (I used fire roasted. sooo yummy!), sugar and salt and hot red pepper flakes.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low.  Cover and simmer 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

 5.  While sauce cooks, make filling by combining ricotta, half the Parmesan, Romano, egg, salt and pepper, basil if using (I added some dried basil), and 2 T. Parsley.  Stir until combined.

6.  Assemble!  Preheat oven to 350.  Coat bottom of baking dish with sauce (I used a 9 X 13 inch glass pan).

Fill each half-cooked shell with ricotta mixture (that is NOT my hand by the way!) (Brandon helped)

Place face down on sauce.  Repeat with remaining shells until cheese mixture is gone.

Cover with remaining sauce.

Sprinkle with remaining shredded Parmesan cheese

7.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.  Serve with garlic bread or other crusty bread.

Enjoy!

Chicken, Rotini and Tomato Casserole

This was a great weeknight quick whatever is on hand casserole.  I did not grow up with casseroles.  Period.  I don't think I ever had a casserole from my mom's oven.  It wasn't part of her culture.  My husband, on the other hand, knows the world of casseroles and he loves them.  Whenever I give him a choice between casserole and pasta or casserole and soup or casserole and stew, the answer?  You got it, casserole.  And I must admit, you can do a lot in these one pot wonders.  The possibilities, my friends, are endless.  This one has:

1 lb or so skinless, boneless chicken breast
2 cups cooked Rotini
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1/2 an onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
the few mushrooms I had left in my fridge (1 would add more if I had them, they were good in here!)
1 cup mozzerella,
1/3 cup parmesan,
more mozz and parm for topping, and a sprinkling of breadcrumbs.

Here's what you do: cut up and saute the chicken breast (I used two breasts

Saute the onion and celery, add them to your casserole dish

Same with the shrooms

And diced tomatoes with their juices

Add the cooked chicken

And the cooked pasta

And the cheese

It looks yummy already

Top with more cheese

And some breadcrumbs

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or so. Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!