Stuffed Shells with Sausage and Spinach

How to make Baked Shells with Sausage and Spinach

Cook some large pasta shells according to the package directions. Then, when they are cooked, drain and add to a large bowl filled with ice water.

Now, on to the filling. Start by removing the casing from sausage links. Just use a sharp knife to pierce the casing and peel it off the meat.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the pork sausage to the pan and use a wooden spoon or similar to break the sausage apart. Cook the sausage until browned.

Add a tablespoon of minced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Watch the garlic does not burn, here.

Pour in a can of diced tomatoes, juice and all.

Now defrost some frozen spinach in the microwave (this takes 1-2 minutes), once defrosted, squeeze the spinach over a bowl. We do not want the water, only the spinach.

Add the spinach to the pan and stir.

Now, remove the pan from the heat and add in some ricotta cheese. This will make the filling creamy. Taste for seasoning, then use a spoon to fill each pasta shell.

Sprinkle a little cheese on top then bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the tips of the shells begin to crisp up and brown.

Baked Shells with Sausage and Spinach Recipe

The filling for these stuffed shells are not too gooey or soft, so not only do they make for an excellent dinner served with a salad on the side, they double as finger food for your next party. Substitute pork sausage for chicken sausage, just add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan before adding the chicken sausage so it does not stick to the pan.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Yield: serves 4

Ingredients

• 16-18 jumbo pasta shells
• 1 pound fresh pork sausage links, casing removed
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and squeeze dry
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mozarella cheese
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and fill a large bowl with cold water and ice, set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta shells and cook according to package directions. Drain well then add to ice water until ready to stuff.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork sausage then use a wooden spoon to break up the sausage, cook 5-6 minutes until browned.
4. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds then add tomatoes and spinach; cook 1 minute.
5. Remove pan from heat and stir in ricotta cheese.
6. Using a spoon, fill pasta shells with pork filling and arrange in a baking dish (9-inch x 9-inch baking dish works well). Sprinkle tops with shredded cheese then bake in the oven 25-30 minutes until cheese has melted and tips of shells begin to crisp and brown.
   
   Found this entry here!!

Spinach & Bulgur Wheat Stuffed Red Peppers {Vegan}

Spinach & Bulgur Wheat Stuffed Red Peppers {Vegan}
This is a similar recipe to the stuffed bell pepper recipe I posted up last month except with a vegan twist to it. I found it at this blog. I highly recommend trying to make stuffed peppers because they are simple to make and turn out great when baked in the oven.

Serves 6
1 cup bulgur wheat (medium ground)
1 teaspoon salt, divided
2 cups boiling water
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 medium onions, diced
5 large cloves garlic, minced
1 lb baby spinach, rinsed
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
6 medium red bell peppers, halved and deseeded
4 tablespoons pine nuts

Combine the bulgur, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and boiling water in a medium bowl; cover and let sit until tender, about 20 minutes.  Drain the bulgur in a fine mesh sieve, gently pushing with the back of a wooden spoon to extract as much water as possible; set aside.

Preheat oven to 400F.  Line a large baking sheet with foil or a silpat liner; arrange the peppers (cut side up) on the baking sheet.  Set aside for now.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add the onion and cook until softened and starting to brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. 

Add the garlic and cook 1 minute, then stir in the spinach and 1 tablespoon of water and cook (covered) until wilted, about 3 to 5 minutes. 

Turn off the heat and stir in the black pepper and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Stir together the bulgur and spinach mixture and stuff it into the peppers.  Pour 4 tablespoons of water into the bottom of the pan; cover with foil and bake until the peppers are tender, about 45 minutes.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to a small skillet over medium heat.

Add the pine nuts and cook until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Sprinkle the toasted nuts on top of the stuffed peppers and serve.

Hummus!

This is one of my favorite foods of all time and is one of the most basic recipes ever and only takes a few minutes to blend!

Ingredients:
200 gm of chickepea.

5 to 6 tbsp of thaini paste

2 garlic cloves chopped fine

2 tsp cumin powder

80 ml lemon juice

6 tbsp olive oil

Cayane peper or you can use a bit of chilli powder

Salt to taste

extra olive oil to sprinkl before serving

paprika powder to sprinkle before serving

finley chopped parsley leaves for garnishing

In a food processor puree the chickpea with the thaini paste, garlic, cumin, lemon juice, oliveoil , cayanpeper and salt puree it to a smooth thick paste.

Pour this mix into a bowl, sprinkle with oil, paprika powder, parsley and serve with toaste pita bread, slices baguette or my favorite is on a bagel.

Prosciutto Salad Rolls

Found this recipe here and it looks like a great one to make for a party when you're in a hurry and need some quick appetizers.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 tablespoon finely chopped chives

8 slices San Danielle prosciutto

2 cups mixed greens or baby arugula

1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Begin by blanching the green beans, see how-to video.
   
   
2. Lay the prosciutto flat in a single layer. Add the green beans to the middle of the prosciutto and divide the greens on top of the beans. Roll the prosciutto over the greens and beans.
   
   
3. Divide the prosciutto rolls between four plates.
   
   
4. Make the dressing by combining the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon zest, orange zest, chives and a little salt and pepper. When ready to serve drizzle the dressing over the prosciutto salad rolls.

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Homemade Tater Tots

I got this amazing recipe from this blog and these tots look better then any other ones I've ever seen!







You add some eggs and flour to bind the potatoes and then they are rolled in crispy breadcrumbs before being deep fried to a golden brown. These were unbelievably good, and as I write this I have a sick tummy ache from eating way too much….
Homemade Tater Tots, makes 4 dozen
-3 cups mashed potatoes, chilled
-2 eggs, beaten
-½ cup flour
-Kosher salt
-3 cups panko bread crumbs
-4 cups vegetable oil
1) In a medium bowl mix together the cold mashed potatoes and the beaten eggs.



2) Mix the flour in. season with a little salt.



3) Drop by the spoonful into a bowl of panko crumbs.




4) Gently press the panko into the soft potato “tots.”



5) Place them on a sheet pan covered in a sheet of wax paper.
6) Heat a small pot of oil to between 350-375 degrees.
7) Gently drop the tater tots into the hot oil and fry for about 1-2 minutes until they are hot and golden.
8) Pull the tater tots from the hot oil with a strainer and gently place on a paper towel to drain.




9) Sprinkle lightly with Kosher salt.
10) Serve hot with ketchup and enjoy!

Peanut Brittle

I got the recipe from Smitten Kitchen.


Have you ever wondered why it is a called a “Baker’s Dozen” and why that number is 13? According to Wikipedia, back in the day bakers could be punished severely if they shortchanged someone, even if it was accidental. So, they started giving people 13 items to make sure they were short. Another possible explanation is that 13 round items (e.g. biscuits) fit proportionality on a rectangular baking sheet.  And that’s your random history for the day.




Peanut Brittle
Yield: Just under half sheet pan
Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: About 30 minutes
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

• Vegetable-oil spray or 1 teaspoon butter, for lining the tray
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup + 2 TB water
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons to 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse or flaky sea salt
• 10 ounces salted, roasted nuts, not chopped

1. Line a half sheet baking pan with parchment paper, or silpat, and lightly coat it with vegetable spray or butter. Lightly spray a spatula and set aside. Measure your peanuts, salt, and baking soda separately and set aside.

2. Put the sugar, butter, corn syrup, and 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water to a large saucepan, and stir together until all the sugar is wet. Cook over high medium-high, but watch it carefully as it will foam up. Once it does, dial back to medium.

3. Once the mixture turns a medium golden (took about 20 minutes for me) immediately remove from the heat, and carefully whisk in the baking soda followed by the salt (taking care, as the caramel will rise in the pan and bubble some more). Switch to a wooden or metal spoon, and fold in the nuts. (Do not forget to switch or the nuts will get stuck in your whisk. Not fun!)

4. Quickly pour the mixture onto the sheet pan, and spread it out over the pan using the back of your greased spatula before it starts to harden. Alternately, you can slide the parchment paper out of the baking pan and onto a counter, cover it with another sheet, and use a rolling pin, pressing down hard, to roll it out as flat and thin as you would like.

5. At this point you can either let it cool completely (pulling off the top sheet of parchment, if you use the rolling pin technique) and break it into bite-size pieces. Or you can do as Smitten did and while it is still warm, cut into strips.

6. The brittle can be stored at room temperature, in an airtight container, for up to two weeks. Separate layers with parchment or wax paper. No way will it last that long though

Grapefruit Infused Rum

I found this entry here! This one looks like a tasty one to try.

Ingredients

• 750 ml white rum
• 1 large pink grapefruit

Instructions

1. Slice grapefruit and remove the pith and peel. Place sliced grapefruit into an infusion jar. Add rum then seal the jar.
2. Let infuse for 1 to 2 weeks in a cool, dark spot, tasting and shaking regularly.
3. Strain the rum into a clean bottle and cap. Discard solids.

Notes

You can also include the grapefruit zest in the infusion. Just be sure to avoid the white pith.

Giant Gummy Bears!

This is a really recipe I found here, and it looks like a really fun one to make. These also look like they would be a funny gift to give somone.

You'll also need honey bear containers. A Google search for "honey bear containers" will get you hooked up with a honey supply supplier. You'll probably have to buy more bears than you need, but that just means more huge gummis!

Here I've taken them out of the bag and put the lids on.

The whole process is pretty simple, if a bit time consuming. Here's the entire contents of a 5 pound bag of Gummi Bears.

The next step is to start sorting. Once again, not too high on the difficulty scale, but it's a time-waster.


I finished sorting the gummy's, ending up with a wonderfully color-coordinated counter full of candy, and hands that appeared to be covered in a buttered cooking spray. One hand-washing later, we're ready to move on.

As you can see, I mobilized every spatula I own, unwilling to cross-contaminate the pristine perfection of each gummy color. I let everything melt slowly on a very low heat setting. Not only did that give me time to prepare the honey bears, but it also gave me a sick sort of pleasure as I watched individual gummys slowly die in the gummy magma. A tip, if you're going to try this at homestick with stainless steel. The black saucepan on the right rear burner didn't seem to want to melt the gummys as well, and it took more than twice as long as the others.

Soon enough (about 10 minutes on low) the gummis were all melted, and the magma turned clear. It's all shiny and uniform in color.  A word of warning: as anyone who's worked with molten sugar knows, getting this stuff on bare skin is horrifically uncomfortable to say the least. It's really, really hot, and it clings to your skin, so tread carefully when pouring.

 It looks like liquid emeralds,

The magma will try to get away from you as you pour, especially when the sides of the stream cool. They'll create thick channels that will guide the still-runny magma from the pan, but will eventually detach and fall onto your honey bear in a sticky mess. Keep your spatula moving, and if you've got some sort of funnel, that might work as well.

From this point, just repeat the process with the remaining colors, put the caps on, and toss 'em all in the refrigerator overnight. The following day they looked like this.

I used an X-ACTO knife to slice through the honey bear containers, and it cut through them like butter. Apparently the gummi mixture was tough enough to resist being cut along with the plastic. So, even when I poked through, the gummi sort of flexed out of the way and then sprung back into shape when the knife passed. So, here's the final product.

The most difficult part of the whole exercise was getting the small gummys to stand up in front of the big ones long enough to take a picture. You'll find that the gummy substance tastes infinitely better (sweeter?) after it's been melted down and then allowed to solidify again. But, like I said, it also gets significantly tougher, so it's quite a workout for the teeth and jaw. I bit the head off of the first one I made (just because, that's why) and it took about 10 minutes to break it down enough to swallow.

Extreme Double Decker Candy Bar!

Found this recipe here and it looks like an interesting one to try out. This candy bar would be perfect to make for someones birthday! Buy more chocolate bars then you need in advance because the person that made this recipe had to improvise because they didn't buy enough.

Internal analysis.

Here are the preliminary ingredients. I thought I would use the syrup in the bottom part but eventually decided against it so it was not used.

Boiling pan of water with plate...CHECK!

Chocolate on top...CHECK.

5mins later...

Initial layer, eventually will be the top of the bar.

After a few mins in the freezer to set.

Layering the nougat bars.

Preparation for the crispy layer.

I think I have a good choc 2 cripsies ratio.

Carefully layered and shaped to ensure a good rectangular block.

Crispy layer been in freezer for few mins.

Crispy layer in place.

Begin the next chocolate layer.

Finally after covering the crispy layer it needs another stay in the freezer.

The smooth top was sculpted with a hot spoon held over the hob.

The likeness is uncanny.

Exquisite!