Cheese Stuffed Shells

I really love Italian cooking. I do NOT love spending all day watching tomatoes boil, though. I found this recipe one day while fiending for ricotta cheese stuffed shells! It is delicious - even my husband likes these, and he is "not so much" with the pasta. When good friends of ours lost a daughter a year and a half ago, I made these in 2 square foil pans so they could just heat up what they would eat at one meal. (I'm a big believer in lots of food when someone passes away!)

The other day I went to Sam's and bought a monster tub of Ricotta and a FIVE POUND BRICK of mozzarella. Had to use them, right?

Cheese Stuffed Shells

INGREDIENTS
Sauce:
1 chopped onion, small
2 cloves garlic, chopped
olive oil
lg can Italian tomatoes, with juice
15 oz can tomato sauce
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp parsley

Cheese Stuffing:
1 lb ricotta
1/4 lb mozzarella, grated
3 tbsp parmesan, grated
1 tbsp parsley
1 egg

20-30 large pasta shells

DIRECTIONS
Sauce:
Saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add tomatoes; saute until soft. Break up with a fork or wooden spoon. Add tomato sauce and spices; simmer 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Cheese stuffing and shell assembly:
Combine ingredients and mix well; put in fridge until shells are ready to stuff. Parboil shells about 12 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water; drain again. Place half of sauce in 13x9x2 baking dish. Carefully fill each shell with cheese stuffing.



Place shells on top of sauce, stuffed side up. Spoon remaining sauce over shells and sprinkle with more grated parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes. If desired, uncover 10 minutes before baking is done and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella.
Serves 4-5


Becca's tip of the day - I have a decorating tube with an open star tip. I load this with the cheese mixture and it is super-easy to pipe the stuffing into the shells with less mess and aggravation! This is the tool I use. Love it!

Noodle Kugel

Noodle Kugel

INGREDIENTS
1 pkg uncooked egg noodles (I like the 1 lb bag from Alberto's)
2 Tbsp butter
2 cups sour cream
2 cups cottage cheese, small curd
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp lemon extract (or rum extract)
1 tsp vanilla extract
cinnamon & sugar mixture for sprinkling (about 3 Tbsp Sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350
Cook noodles according to directions on bag
Place 2 Tbsp butter in 13x9 baking dish and place in oven to melt, use to grease casserole dish
Mix remaining ingredients (except cinnamon & sugar for sprinkling) in large mixing bowl
Mix in noodles and pour into casserole dish
Sprinkle with Cinnamon & Sugar
Cook for 75 minutes at 350

Summer Tortellini

This is basically my way of using up all the extra bits of veggies and produce before it goes bad, so the vegetables and meat choice are fairly flexible. The ingredients reflect what I used this time, but feel free to swap out the ham with grilled chicken, sausage, salami, or anything other meat. Or add in cubed cheddar or other cheese.

Summer Tortellini

INGREDIENTS
1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 zucchini, sliced thin
1/2 green pepper, bite size pieces
1/2 red pepper, bite size pieces
1/2 yellow pepper, bite size pieces
2 cups ham, diced
1-2 packages tortellini, cooked according to package
Italian Dressing
Fresh Parmesan

DIRECTIONS
Lightly coat zucchini and pepper in italian dressing and sauté in pan until lightly softened (just to take a bit of the bite out, you still want it crunchy).
Toss ham, sautéed vegetables, tomatoes, tortellini with just enough dressing to lightly coat.
Grate fresh paremesan cheese on top.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Baked Macaroni and Cheese is on my list of personal comfort foods. This is not the neon orange cheese food that comes in a box from Kraft (though I admit I love that as well), but rather a creamy concoction started on the stovetop, but finished to a crusty perfection in the oven. If you'd like something a little quicker you don't have to finish in the oven, but then you lose the combination of the crusty goodness along the edges and top mixed with the creaminess in the middle. I always use finely shredded sharp cheddar, but feel free to use your cheese of choice. For a sharper flavor, substitute a 1/2 cup of the cheddar for a 1/2 cup of blue cheese. This recipe is featured in one of my favorite cookbooks, the Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook, and made with little variation it's just that good. The only way to really mess this up is to use high instead of medium heat when using the saucepan.

Ingredients assembled

Whisk flour and melted butter until smooth

Add Milk and whisk until thick and bubbly

At this point you can either cook it for another 5 minutes or place in buttered casserole dish and bake

Baked with a paprika, cracker topping

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

INGREDIENTS
8 oz cooked macaroni, elbow or spiral shaped work best
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup white flour
2 cups milk, I use skim (it's probably intended to be whole)
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
1 tsp salt
paprika (optional)
crumbled butter cracker (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Assemble ingredients before use, this is fairly important for this recipe.
In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter
Whisk in flour until smooth, continue whisking for 1 minute over medium heat
Slowly pour in milk while whisking
Continue stirring over medium heat until thick and bubbly about 6-7 minutes
Switch from a whisk to a spoon (wooden recommended)
Stir in cheese and salt until melted and smooth
Add to macaroni and stir in to coat
Pour into buttered casserole dish
Sprinkle with paprika and/or crumbled butter crackers (like Townhouse Crackers)
Bake at 350F for 30 minutes

If you want to skip the baking, just stir over medium heat for about 5 minutes after combining the macaroni and cheese mixture.

Tortellini with Beef and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

This is a quick meal that works well for us on nights when we go to hockey games and only have a short time to prepare dinner.

Tortellini with Beef and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

INGREDIENTS
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 lb Beef, in small cubes or slices (I buy stew meat when in a hurry)
1 oz sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, about 1/8 cup
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Italian Seasoning
Cooked Tortellini (I buy Buitoni's in the refrigerator section)
Grated Parmeson or Romano

DIRECTIONS
Heat Olive Oil in a skillet on medium heat
Add beef to the skillet
Sprinkle with garlic powder, onion powder and Italian Seasoning, to taste. I use about 1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp onion powder and about 1/4-1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
Brown beef until cooked through, add tomatoes and reduce to low
Stir and heat for 1-2 additional minutes
Toss with Tortellini, sprinkle with cheese and serve
Serves 2