Stuffed Shells

I don't know what it is about a baked pasta dish...the cheese, the noodles, the meaty sauce...it is just always yummy. Here is the recipe for the easy stuffed shells I made that I referenced in the post a few days ago. My family really enjoyed them and even the leftovers were eaten quickly. I served this with Caesar Salad and garlic breadsticks.


A few tips-
1. I browned the ground beef with the onion ahead of time (even a day ahead) so prep is really fast!
2. You can get prepared pesto off the deli line-on the olive bar at Wegman's-or in jars near the spaghetti sauce. Or, if you have basil in your garden, make you own! It is delicious in this dish.
3. I used part skim Ricotta and part skim Italian cheese to lighten the dish. I also used spaghetti sauce that was "flavored with meat."
4. You can make this entire dish the day before and put it in the fridge. Then just take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before baking.
5. You will probably have extra shells. I didn't really know what to do with them- so Corey was eating them plain off of the counter. If you want, make extra of the cheese mixture so you can fill the extra shells!

Ingredients:Easy Beef-Stuffed Shells Rec

• 20 uncooked jumbo pasta shells
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 carton (15 ounces) ricotta cheese, part skim
  
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Italian cheese blend, divided
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup prepared pesto
• 1 egg
• 1 jar (26 ounces) spaghetti sauce, divided

How-To:

• Cook pasta shells according to package directions to al dente; drain and rinse in cold water. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, 1-1/2 cups Italian cheese blend, Parmesan cheese, pesto, egg and half of the beef mixture.
• Spread 3/4 cup spaghetti sauce into a greased 13-in x 9-in. baking dish. Spoon cheese mixture into pasta shells; place in baking dish. Combine remaining beef mixture and spaghetti sauce; pour over shells. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
  
• Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Lotsa Pasta

I have been making a lot of delicious pasta dishes lately! First, I made a yummy ranch cold pasta salad. Then, I made an Italian Stuffed Shells dinner, and last night I made a Pasta Primavera with ham. YUM, YUM, YUM! They were all successful.

I will feature the ranch salad (pictured above) in today's post. This recipe was adapted from Sandra Lee, who is on Food Network with her show "Semi-Homemade." In her magazine, she often features one convenience item used 4 different ways. In an old issue (last year) she used those ranch dressing packets- found near the salad dressings in the supermarket.

Ingredients:
1 pound of bow-tie pasta (farfalle)
1 bunch of broccoli, cut into florets
12 oz. bag of baby carrots, sliced
1 cup of cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
1/3 cup sliced radishes (I am not a huge radish fan but they just provide a nice crunch!!)
1 (1 ounce) packet of Hidden Valley ran salad dressing and seasoning mix
1 cup of buttermilk
1 cup of light mayo
coarse sea salt to taste
black pepper to taste

How-To:
1. Cook the pasta according the box and add the broccoli to the pasta pot during the last two minutes of cooking. Rinse in cold water and drain.
2. In a big bowl combine the pasta broccoli mixture, the carrots, tomatoes, and radishes. I used a package of already sliced radishes from Wegman's which cut down on prep.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the ranch mix, the buttermilk, mayo. Toss with the pasta.
4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you want, you can add in basil or garnish it with basil.

It makes a lot, so you can keep it in the fridge for lunches. It is nice to take to picnics, too, and goes well with burgers and dogs for a dinner.