Thursday, May 26, 2011

Stuffed Shells





Are we ready for the weekend? Quite frankly I am always ready for the weekend, unless it's donut day here in the office and then I can totally be here no questions asked...except for around 2pm where I ask if I can go home early. Southern California traffic is a nightmare.


Speaking of nightmares, just this past weekend I watched the new Nightmare on Elm Street. This was a big cheese fest seriously, I could have spent that cash in much better ways.









Speaking of cheese, I shared a giant plate of it last night. I shared a giant plate of it right after I also sampled 17 other restaurants participating in Taste of Little Italy in downtown San Diego. I also got to sample some homemade wines from locals, it's sort of tough not to feel pressured to buy wine when the maker is right in your grill.


Speaking of wine, I was told May 25th was National Wine Day (not into wine, how bout celebrating National "Whine" day?), I was also told that this was NO coincidence since this is also my birthday.









I am now 33 years happy, that's right folks - I'm happy. Word.

Speaking of happy, things that make me happy..


1. Family, duh.
2. Wine, duh.
3. Zombie Movies, double duh.
4. Good hair days, uh yeah!
5. Zombie Movies, just in case you do not understand yet my LOVE for them.
6. Stuffed Shells, with family, wine, a good hair day, and a Zombie Movie...Oh yeah that's heaven baby.









INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed from Simply Recipes
{Printable Recipe}

1 12-ounce package jumbo pasta shells
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 large egg
16-ounces ricotta cheese
10-ounces chopped frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry, chopped further
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 28-ounce can tomatoes with herbs, including the liquid, tomatoes broken up (or your favorite tomato or pasta sauce)
2 9x13 shallow baking dishes









DIRECTIONS


Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta shells according to the instructions on the package. Drain, rinse in cold water, and set aside.









Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage to the pan, breaking up the sausage into smaller bits. Cook sausage until cooked through, and no pink remains, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute more. Remove pan from heat.









Beat the egg lightly in a large bowl. Mix in the ricotta, chopped spinach, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese, basil, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and sausage mixture. Fill each cooked pasta shell with some of the ricotta, spinach, sausage mixture.









Spread 1/2 cup chopped canned tomatoes over the bottom of each of the baking dishes. Arrange the stuffed pasta shells in the dishes. Spread the remaining tomatoes over the top of the pasta shells.









Heat oven to 375°F. Cover the pans with foil and bake for 30 minutes, until hot and bubbling. Remove foil and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese, bake uncovered for 10 more minutes.

Enjoy your weekend..




47 comments:

Unknown said...

Happy day to you!

I adore stuffed shells, my mom and I used to eat these all the time. The people I live with now have something wrong in their heads and do not like ricotta. How is that possible? No shells lately, but I can drool over your photos.

Angie A said...

Super fab! I have added this to my must try folder!

Unknown said...

Oh I love stuffed shells! Maybe I'll make this for dinner tonight! Thanks :)

Anna said...

Happy Birthday!!! And those shells look scrumptious. I know exactly what you mean...but then whenever I'm even near a wine shop I feel that pressure to pick up a bottle.

Unknown said...

They look fabulous and I love the plate!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Your shells are magnificent! A wonderfully comforting meal. Viva Italia!

Cheers,

Rosa

Annalise said...

What a fun post!

Tessa said...

Happy birthday! These look wonderfully cheesy. Yum!

rebecca said...

happy birthday, you hot momma! my mom used to make stuffed shells. this recipe looks much better seeing as how she would dump everything from a box into a baking dish. shhh, we won't tell her.

Unknown said...

Happy Birthday to you! I hope you're having a great one. Have a glass or two or the whole bottle of wine for me :)
I am too always ready for the weekend. I cannot wait, though this weekend I need to do some work... boo!
The stuffed shells look utterly delicious. Yum!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday! And yum, I love stuffed shells. (I actually love unstuffed shells a little more. Whenever my mom made stuffed shells, she would make me a baking dish full of all the broken, unstuffable shells, and add sauce and mozzarella. It was the best thing to take out of the freezer and pop in the oven on random nights when I didn't feel like cooking.)

Unknown said...

Yum! I was thinking manicotti but this looks good!

Julie said...

Hope you had a super birthday! I'll skip the zombie movie and have a double portion of these shells please!

Just Cake Girl said...

The shells are so beautiful, and all the pictures too!!!

Unknown said...

Oh man, these look really good. I love stuffed shells. And zombie movies. ;-) Happy birthday!

teresa said...

happy birthday my friend! what a delicious way to celebrate!

Kim said...

A very happy birthday to you! I'm with you...good food, good wine, some family, and a good zombie/vampire flick and I'm happy. The pictures of your shells are terrific.

art is in the kitchen said...

What a great idea for these giant shells! Just love the way they look. They must be delicious and fun to make too. This will be our next pasta dish!
Happy Birthday to you dear friend!!!

Beth said...

You enjoy your weekend too! Your shells look great.

Monet said...

Happy Birthday! Stuffed shells make me very happy too ;-) Thank you for sharing with me tonight, my sweet friend. I hope you have a beautiful weekend.

Unknown said...

Jealous. I want my birthday on National Wine Day!!! :) happy birthday!

Sara Louise said...

Yummy yumyums!
Happy birthday to you!
And I think everyday is wine day :-)

Bite my cake said...

I love pasta in all combinations and this is soooo good! Great recipe

Unknown said...

Happy belated birthday, Jen!!

The stuffed shells look incredible. I was just thinking of making them recently..now I think I have been inspired!

Unknown said...

OK, first just to let you know I have been having major issues commenting on Blogger but it looks like the problem MAY be fixed....we'll see if this goes through....

These shells are quite possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!!! Love them!

Holly said...

Looks delicious!!:) Happy weekend!:)

aipi said...

Happy Belated Birthday dear! The shells look so appetyzing n delectable!
Have a great Memorial day weekend my friend!
US Masala

Nic said...

Thanks for the great recipe - just showed this to my partner and he is demanding that I make it right now!

Chris said...

Oh, Jenn, this is one of my favorite dishes that Alexis makes. Yours looks so delicious. If this wasn't a huge grilling weekend, we would be making this this weekend.

Unknown said...

I LOVE stuffed shells, yours look wonderful! Have a great holiday weekend with your cute family.

Sue said...

Looks delish! HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you! I love the quote!

Angie's Recipes said...

Happy belated Birthday to you! Those stuffed shells make me seriously HAPPY!

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday and thanks for two lovely recipes - I make them all the time with ricotta - so I'm looking forward to the meat one - I'm printing the recipe - thanks!
Mary

Anonymous said...

Love stuffed shells and your recipes look fantastic! Happy birthday!

Sutapa said...

Happy Belated Birthday! First time in your blog and totally carried away seeing this cheesy shell recipe!

Martha said...

This recipe and your photography go on my list of things that make me happy - oh and beer. I love beer, LOL! Have a great weekend! Cheers :-)

Unknown said...

YUM! I've seen this recipe before and have thought about making it. Now I definitely will!

Tracy said...

These look simply lovely! And, happy birthday to you!! :-)

scrambledhenfruit said...

Happy Birthday! I hope it was a great one. :) Those shells look delicious!

Lori said...

Happy Birthday! I hope you spent it doing lots of happy things.

I made some shells a couple weeks ago and I just couldnt seem to get a good picture. Your pictures are awesome! Everything looks so fresh and delicious.

Fresh Garden said...

Absolutely fantastic!
My mouth is salivating.....

Unknown said...

Happy (delayed) Birthday!
I love this recipe, just printed it!
THank you so much for sharing it!
Barbara

Cooking Gallery said...

This looks super good...! And I like zombie (or horror/thriller in general) movies too ;)!

Mary said...

Happy belated birthday! These shells look delicious. I don't make pasta often enough. Hope you had a great long weekend!

Candace said...

Absolutely fabulous photos! The shells look soooo good. Happy Belated Birthday to you! I hope this is your best year ever.

erica said...

So I moved into my apartment about two years ago and was all about making stuffed shells - I even bought them at the time I moved in. They still sit in my cabinet haha. Maybe I should make them asap!

xo

Jayanthy Kumaran said...

happy B day dear...excellent recipe...thanks for sharing..:)
Tasty Appetite
Event: Letz Relishh Ice Creams