Stuffed Shells with Cheese & Spinach

OK so this recipe isn't as "healthy" as our recipes have been so far this year...but can you blame a girl for wanting some good Italian cheese-stuffed shells in her life? This is a good vegetarian dish too since the shells only have spinach in them, but if you absolutely need some protein in your meal, you could add shredded chicken inside and that would be great too. I always boil a few more shells than I think I will need because they sometimes can break apart either while they are boiling or when you are trying to fill them. This recipe makes about 12 - 15 shells. Also, since I don't typically make my own marinara sauce (*GASP*), I like to amp up store bought sauce by sauteing some peppers, onions and garlic in a skillet and then once they are browned, I add them in with the marinara sauce to give a more homemade-y feel.

Ingredients

Jumbo pasta shells (about 15)

15 oz. ricotta cheese

1.5 cups mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 egg

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. dried basil

1 jar marinara sauce

Optional: Sauteed onions and peppers to add to the marinara sauce. 

1. Cook jumbo pasta shells in a large pot of boiling water. Once fully cooked, drain and set aside. 

2. In a mixing bowl, add ricotta cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, egg, garlic, pepper and basil. Mix together and then fold in the chopped spinach. 

3. Pour about a cup of the marinara on the bottom of a baking dish. 

4. Fill each cooked jumbo shell with about two tablespoons of the ricotta mixture and set in the baking dish on top of the marinara. 

5. Top with remaining marinara and then the remaining half cup of mozzarella cheese. Cover dish with aluminum foil. 

6. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and bake for another 5 minutes to brown the top.

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Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Watching TV one night, we saw Jessica Seinfeld on a show talking about her new cookbook for people who can't cook.  It contained very simple step-by-step recipes, limited to a few ingredients and perfect for those intimidated.  My hubby expressed interest in learning how to cook and this seemed like a perfect solution.  Me to him: "are you really going to use this book if I buy it?".  Him: "I promise".  (I remember thinking, geez, you have a blog at your disposal where you have a personal history with both of the ladies writing it, and you need a cookbook?)  Anyway, I ordered it for him.  That was 4 months ago and he has yet to look at it. 

Ugh :- /

To make a long story short, this is where I got this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

3 Medium sweet potatoes
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil 


1.  With a vegetable brush, clean sweet potatoes and cut off edges.  (No need to peel)  Slice into 1/2 inch pieces. 
 2.  Mix sugar, salt, cumin and pepper in a small bowl

3.  Transfer potatoes to a rimmed sheet pan.  Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the potatoes.  Mix to coat all the potatoes.

4.  Bake @ 425 degrees until tender...about 30 minutes.  

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Pork Chops with Fennel

I've never cooked with fennel before, but whenever I see it in the produce section I wonder what I could do with it. So one day I picked up the fennel bulb and some pork chops and decided I would try and look something up when I got home. I found a good looking recipe and made a few changed depending on what I did and didn't have at home. You'll need to trim off the top part of the fennel bulb that has the stems and leaves (I read that you can use the leaves in salads or dressings so you can definitely save those for later use). Cut the bulb in half and then slice it thinly into a half-moon shape as seen below. Overall, I really enjoyed the flavor when it was cooked down with some onions and garlic, and it was a sweeter flavor that seemed to pair well with the pork chops. The only thing I might change next time is to cook down the sauce a little more to make it thicker, possibly adding some flour or cornstarch to make the consistency more creamy. 

Ingredients

6 pork chops

1 medium fennel bulb, stocks removed and sliced

3/4 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves

3/4 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 TBS paprika

Salt & Pepper

Olive oil, about 2 TBS.

1 TBS. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. lemon zest

1 TBS. fresh lemon juice

1. Rinse your pork chops and then pat dry. Cover each side of the pork chops with salt, pepper and paprika and rub into the pork chops to season them well. 

2. In a medium heat pan with about 1 TBS. of olive oil, sear pork chops on both sides until they have a good brown color on them, about 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and set aside. 

3. In the same pan, add another tablespoon of olive oil, the sliced fennel, onions and garlic. Saute in the pan until the fennel and onions start to get brown and soft. About 7-8 minutes. 

4. Add in the chicken broth and white wine and bring to a boil. 

5. Once the pan is boiling, add the pork chops back in the pan and cover with a lid. Cook for about 8-10 minutes depending on how thick your pork chops are. 

6. Remove the pork chops and place them on a platter. Boil the sauce for another 5 minutes or so, without the lid, so that it can reduce down. 

7. Remove sauce from heat and stir in the Dijon mustard, lemon zest and lemon juice. Pour the sauce over the platter of pork chops and Enjoy! 

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Barley and Vegetable Risotto

This recipe was my first introduction into making risotto.  Since I learned how to make this last year, I've also made traditional risotto with rice.  But if you're watching your carb intake, using barley is great.  
This is a great side dish, or could even be a whole meal (it's that filling).  But making any risotto takes time, and it's worth it!  They key is adding liquid in small doses and letting cook about 30-45 minutes on the stove.  

I served this with a previously published blog post: Stuffed Chicken breasts from 5-16-13. YUMMY!

INGREDIENTS

4-1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 small onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil
8 oz sliced fresh mushrooms
3/4 cup uncooked pearl barley
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Pepper to taste

1.  Bring chicken broth to a boil in saucepan, reduce heat to low and keep broth hot.  

2.  Heat olive oil in large saucepan or skillet, add onions and mushrooms and cook about 4 minutes.  (I used a skillet for photos, but a saucepan is the way to go I think)

3. Add barley to same pan, cook 1 minute.  

4.  Add 1/4 cup of broth to the barley mixture and stir until the broth is absorbed.  Continue adding 1/4 cup broth at a time, stirring until broth is absorbed each time (about 30 minutes, until barley is tender).

5.  Stir in spinach and cook 1 minute until spinach is wilted.  Stir in Parmesan cheese and pepper.  

Stuffed Chicken Breasts - post 5-16-13

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Grilled Tuna Steaks

Our neighbor was nice enough to bring us 2 thick-fresh Tuna steaks last fall from the Coast. They had been vacuumed sealed in my freezer ever since.  Having never prepared tuna steaks before, I was a little unsure the best way to cook.  

With a little research, I learned they are best when marinated and grilled, remaining slightly pink inside.  Since I don't like any meat prepared rare, this was a little scary, but I figured millions of people eating sashimi can't be wrong. 

Also this was a perfect opportunity to buy a new grill pan!  

What to marinade them with?  hmmmm...good question!   Corinne had bought me some really cool ingredients from her time working at the Green Olive shop, so I used these to marinade the steaks.  If I didn't have these, I might have made an apple/pear juice, vinegar and oil mixture.  

INGREDIENTS

Marinade of choice (approximately 1/2 cup)
1 Tablespoon Basil
Pepper
Olive Oil for grilling

1. Mix marinade ingredients and pour over tuna steaks.  Season and rub on spices, coating both sides.  Cover and refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.  I think I had these in the marinade for several hours.  

Aren't these steaks beautiful???

2.  Remove from refrigerator and sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes.  

3.  Heat indoor grill pan under medium-high heat with oil.  You can also use outdoor grill.  
Grill tuna steaks for about 3 minutes per side.  They should be slightly pink inside.  

4.  I served these with a simple tzatziki sauce (Greek yogurt, diced cucumbers and garlic powder) and grilled asparagus (also done on my new pan!)

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Shrimp stir fry with peanut butter

I'm not sure if it is a dangerous thing, or a good thing, but I've been watching a lot of episodes of Chopped on the Food Network lately.  Corinne got me turned onto that, and now I'm addicted. For those of you who have seen it, can you imagine preparing the dishes they do in the time frame in which they have?  I would be a mess!

So on one episode, one of the basket ingredients was peanut butter and the chef added it to a stir fry, thus this recipe post.

I love stir fry and usually just make it with this great Soyaki Sauce I like from Trader Joe's.  This time, I decided to amp it up with some peanut butter too.  If you don't have this, you can use any teriyaki sauce, or just soy sauce seasoned with garlic, ginger and sesame seeds. 

INGREDIENTS

Cut up vegetables of choice - about 3 cups
     (I used slightly blanched carrots, zucchini, onions and yellow peppers)
Sesame oil 
1-1-1/2 cup Soyaki, Teriyaki or Soy Sauce (see note above)
1/2 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter
Cooked shrimp (if using uncooked shrimp, cook with vegetables for a few minutes)


1.  With a little sesame oil, in a skillet, saute [to mild crispness] vegetables, remove from pan.

2.  Add sauce into pan and stir in peanut butter until smooth

3.  Put vegetables back into the pan to infuse the flavor, stir.  Add the cooked shrimp in the last few minutes, so they don't get chewy.  You just want the shrimp to get warmed.  Serve over rice!  

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