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Better late than never!

April 10, 2010 By 6 Comments

I finally bought a farm share! So hopefully this summer I will be full of recipes lovingly prepared with fresh, local produce. Because I CARE. And also, because I keep hearing about how awesome it is and I want to judge for myself. And maaaaybe because the one I chose also includes local honey and cheese. Just maybe.

Last weekend we had Easter dinner at my in-laws, with ham [my favorite; down with turkey! except dark meat!], mashed potatoes, green beans and the side dish I am about to show you in all its glory. Also, my husband and brother-in-law made a bet in which it was somehow determined the loser would have to help pay for a turducken. I forget the conditions of it, but I’m glad we’re finally going to have one so my husband stops yapping about it. He’s more susceptible to advertising than I am.

This side dish is really quite basic but it’s tasty and satisfying. It’s from allrecipes.com, which is an amazingly awesome source of recipes. Even if you don’t follow the recipes on there to the letter, there are a lot of great basic ideas. Plus, I love the fact that you can plug in ingredients you have on hand and it brings up recipe suggestions for you.

Maple Dill Carrots
1.5 lbs baby carrots
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 teaspoons fresh dill, chopped
1 tablespoon of flour, if necessary
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large pan over medium high heat. Add in the carrots and just enough water to cover them. Let the carrots cook for about 15 – 20 minutes or until fork tender; the water may be evaporated depending upon the thickness of your carrots. If the water isn’t evaporated, pour the excess off from the pan. Add in the butter, brown sugar and dill. Toss with the carrots and make sure they’re all evenly coated. Let that cook down for a bit, until the butter and sugar thicken into a glaze; use the flour to thicken up if necessary. Salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

I never realized how much I like dill until I made this recipe. It’s such a bright, clean flavor – somewhere between sweet and savory, that plays beautifully with the brown sugar. This really would go well with just about any meal.

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These aren't the blueberries you're looking for.

March 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

My father-in-law requested a blueberry recipe for the blog not too long ago, and I’ve been thinking about several possibilities, but I want to wait for some good in-season blueberries to make something really good. Which isn’t to say that the subject of this post isn’t really good, because it is, but it uses frozen blueberries which is pretty much cheating and fresh blueberries are always better.

I didn’t actually take too many pictures of this, because it hadn’t been intended for the blog. It was intended to use up the bananas that my husband YET AGAIN didn’t eat. [Note to husband: I am not buying you any more bananas.] But then I made it, and tasted it, and decided to blog about it. Such is the life of a food blogger, I suppose: never eating a hot meal again and never quite knowing what creations will be “blog worthy” as one of our friends says.

Blueberry Banana Cake

3 ripe bananas, mashed
1.5 cups frozen blueberries, defrosted
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1.5 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1 stick of butter, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the eggs, vanilla and cinnamon. Slowly add in flour, baking powder and salt (the batter will be stiff). Fold in mashed bananas and blueberries until just combined. Pour batter into greased 9×13 baking pan. Cook for 35 – 40 minutes or until set in the center.

Now, mine came out a little light on the top, and I like my baked goods to look nice and golden brown. So I sprinkled about a tablespoon of sugar over the top and stuck it under the broiler for two minutes to caramelize the sugar and brown the top, and then it was perfect.

This makes about 24 pieces of cake, or bars, if you don’t feel like frosting them. These are really tasty; not very sweet, and the flavor of blueberry and banana really comes through. At first I was slightly disappointed in them, but on day two I had a second slice and fell in love with it: moist because of the banana, slightly tart because of the blueberries. It’s the type of snack cake that I don’t feel horrifically bad in eating and also the type that would be perfect with tea.

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Only communists don't like chili!

February 24, 2010 By 1 Comment

I’ve been making this chili for about ten years now. Over the years I’ve refined the recipe and the process to the point where I can pretty much make it in my sleep. I think I meant to blog about it one other time but forgot to take pictures before everyone at poker night got to it. Last night I made it for poker again, and will now share the wonders of this chili with you.

Well… maybe I don’t always make it the same way. Last night after everyone left, the husband said the chili was good and asked if it was for the blog. I thanked him and said yes it was, to which he replied he thought so, because I put whole chili peppers in there instead of diced and it seemed more bloggy. This was an adorable [and true] observation on his part, and it reminded me of what a good decision I made in keeping him around six years ago. Which was actually pretty easy: I just had to buy him a meatball sub and he was all mine!

And now that I’ve made everyone want to vomit with our cuteness, on to the food!

Chili of Doom

1 1/2 lb ground sirloin
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, with juice
1 can (14.5 oz) crushed tomatoes, with juice
8 oz beef broth
8 oz dark beer
12 oz tomato paste
1/2 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 chili peppers, whole
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large stockpot. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant; add in the ground sirloin and brown the meat. Add in all remaining ingredients except the tomato paste. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for about two hours over medium-low heat. Before serving, remove the chili peppers and stir in the tomato paste. Serve garnished with cheese and/or sour cream. Serves 6 – 8.

I have to say, this is pretty awesome chili. It’s not the hottest chili on the block, but it’s got a nice, smoky heat to it and has plenty of savory flavor. All the sweet ingredients add a nice depth of flavor, particularly the cocoa powder which is such a great pairing with any dish containing chilies. I tripled the recipe for yesterday’s poker game and there was nothing left at the end of the night. It’s definitely a crowd pleaser!

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There's no cream in carbonara!

February 10, 2010 By 2 Comments

Or at least, there shouldn’t be. But I wasn’t about to tell that to the waitress at the restaurant I was at last night in Boston’s North End for my work-BFFs birthday. I’m not sure what possessed me to order it anyway; I think I was dazzled by the talk of lobster, diver scallops and ‘jumbo’ shrimp [ps, they looked more like 21/25 to me!].

But that reminded me of my own carbonara dish that I had yet to post; it was incredibly good and even though I always think of carbonara being a heavy dish, this was so light and flavorful that I regret not making it sooner. It was delicioso! See? Those are my Italian roots showing.

This is slightly less than authentic, but I’m not charging you $25 to eat my not-authentic food, am I? AM I? NO! And you know why? Because nothing I cook ever comes out exactly the same. I can follow the same recipe over and over again, yet inevitably I change something. It’s like my food is as unpredictable as my moods! Hee, sorry husband!

So without further ado, I bring you: Michelle’s Langostino Carbonara!

6 oz spaghetti/linguine/fettuccine
12 oz langostino (or lobster/shrimp/etc)
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
2 oz of Pecorino Romano, freshly grated
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon pepper seasoning, or to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 oz pancetta, diced
1 large carrot, julienned
10 – 12 stalks of asparagus

Preheat oven to 200 F. Once oven is heated, place bowls in there to keep warm. Bring pot of salted water to a boil; add pasta. In a small bowl, whisk together whole eggs, egg yolks, lemon pepper seasoning, and grated cheese. In a medium sized pan, heat olive oil. Once hot, add in diced pancetta and cook until fat renders. Remove pancetta to a a plate lined with paper towels; drain off all but two teaspoons of fat from the pan.

Add in the carrots and asparagus and cook until tender. Add back in the pancetta and heat through. Set aside. Once the pasta is cooked to your preference, reserve 1/3 cup of pasta water and then drain pasta. Add pasta into the pan with the veggie mixture, along with egg mixture and toss to coat. If the sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved water. Serve immediately in warmed bowls.

Again, this is so good. I can’t say enough good things about this incredibly simple dish. Also, please note that when I say “lemon pepper seasoning” I don’t mean the crap that is powdered and bright yellow. I mean the stuff you can buy at Trader Joe’s or any other store worth its salt, that has whole black peppercorns, dried lemon peel and sea salt with a grinder on top. The lemony flavor adds so much to the dish and obviously complements the seafood and asparagus beautifully.

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Wait, who's in the Super Bowl again?

February 4, 2010 By 2 Comments

This post is brought to you by a dear Food Shenanigans friend, Tim Gager.

Super Bowl Party — it’s about friends and food. Some people like the commercials, some get into the game. And beer? That’s basic, Heineken? Pabst? It doesn’t matter much unless you’re Dennis Hopper:

For the past twenty years I’ve had a party for the Super Bowl, unless the Patriots (my team) are playing, then I go to other people’s parties so I don’t miss any of the game. My get-togethers started humbly with only beer and hard liquor. Years II to III, featured such treats as Jenos Pizza Rolls and Wieners in Wrappers. If I were old enough my party for the Jets-Colts would have looked like this:

I guarantee it.

But, damn, I’ve grown up. Invited this year is Michelle (writer of Food Shenanigans!) and her husband Dave along with six other people I love. I’ve already fantasized that after the party Michelle’ll just post “I quit, Tim’s too good” on her blog. Maybe she’ll say something nice after. [Ed. Note: This is certainly possible, but my ego likely won't allow it!]

This year here is the menu:

Robert Duvall’s Mother’s Crab Cakes.

Ingredients
1 pound crab meat, jumbo, lump or back-fin
2 heaping tablespoons mayonnaise
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 small onion, grated
1/2 tablespoon mustard powder
18 Ritz crackers, crumbled
Directions
1. Combine all ingredients except the crackers. Add crackers crumbs in as close to sautéing as possible so that they crab cakes don’t get too moist from the other ingredients. Form into patties the size of hamburger patties.
2. Sauté in frying pan over medium-to-high heat in butter, 10 minutes per side. Make sure that it’s crispy outside but moist and juicy inside.
3. A simple tartar sauce to accompany the crab cakes can be made by mixing mayonnaise, grated onion and lemon juice.

These are the best crab cakes. I cannot order crab cakes out at any restaurants anymore because honestly, they are not as good as these. I also have a lot of really nice positive associations involving cooking these as a main course. (Yes, they got me laid). For a twist shake a few drips of chipotle tabasco in the tartar sauce.

Bacon-Wrapped Scallops with Timothy Gager’s crusty Twist

24 lg. sea scallops (about 2 lbs.)
12 slices bacon
Chopped Almonds
Seasoned pepper
Melted Butter

Rinse scallops with running cold water, pat dry with paper towels. Cut each bacon slice crosswise in half; wrap each half around a scallop, securing with a toothpick. Sprinkle scallops lightly with seasoned pepper. Chop almonds using a food processor or hit them with a hammer inside a zip-lock bag.

Preheat broiler. Place scallops on rack in broiling pan, with bacon facing the heating element. Broil 8 to 10 minutes until scallops turn opaque throughout, using tongs to turn scallops frequently so bacon will brown evenly on all sides. Submerge bacon wrapped scallops in butter and roll in almond pieces.

When I cook I know what ingredients go well together. Crusting the usual scallops wrapped in bacon is just enough extra care that people will say, “Oh, wow.” The scallops I’m going to use are fresh off the boat from Mitura Fishing Corporation. Fresh Scallops, no poisons or salt water baths which distributor of scallops use to plump them up. Only the best and freshest come from The Halina M [pictured on right].

Elizabeth Rawlin’s Lasagna for Idiots

Sauce

brown:
1 lb Italian sausage
4-5 cloves fresh garlic or about 1/3 cup minced from a jar
1 onion

add to:
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
3 8-oz cans tomato sauce
~2 tbsp oregano
~1 tbsp basil
2 bay leaves or about 2 tsp crushed
~1 tsp sugar
1 cup water
pepper

simmer for at least 2 hours uncovered

cheese filling:
16-oz tub ricotta
~1 tbsp oregano
~1 tsp salt
~2 tsp pepper

2 8-oz packages Sargento six-cheese Italian blend (or a whole lot of mozzarella and about a third as much parmesan)

1 pkg lasagna noodles (no-boil is the best)

layer:

sauce
noodles
ricotta
sauce
cheese
noodles
ricotta
sauce
cheese
noodles
ricotta
sauce
cheese

325 for 45 minutes uncovered; let stand 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Timothy Gager’s Meat or Vegetarian Chili

Half a Butternut Squash or One pound of ground beef and One pound of cooked steak
One can kidney beans drained
One large can of whole tomatoes
Two medium green peppers
Two medium to large onions
½ tablespoon of ground black pepper
¼ tablespoon of chili powder.

If using meat: Brown the meat, drain. Then add canned tomatoes, drained kidney beans, large chopped onions and peppers, cooked steak pepper and chili powder. Simmer for 90 minutes.

For vegetarian: don’t use or add the meat. Duh. Add the squash fifteen minutes before serving. If you add it too early it will break into tiny or become invisible and overwhelm the chili.

Timothy Gager is the author of eight books of fiction and poetry. He loves to cook and will often have multiple foodgasms. He lives on www.timothygager.com

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Seriously, enough with the clapping.

January 27, 2010 By 6 Comments

We’re watching the State of the Union Address. Can someone please tell me why there’s so much goddamn clapping? I mean, I get it; you like what he’s saying. Can’t you just clap once or twice politely? If there was less bowing and scraping during this thing, it’d be on for half the length of time it is.

You know what you should be clapping about? This recipe I’m about to give you: caramelized banana cupcakes. I KNOW! They were delish.

I was looking for something to make that wasn’t banana bread, but would still use up the extra bananas we had laying around that I bought with the best of intentions, but as usual took forever in using them. I ended up stumbling across a recipe for caramelized bananas, which sounded like it would pair awesomely with a somewhat lighter, less spiced version of my carrot cake.

Caramelized Banana Cupcakes

2 – 3 bananas, sliced
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup spiced rum
1 teaspoon cinnamon, divided
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 cup oil
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350. In a 8 or 10 inch skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sliced bananas and cook for about a minute. Add the rum and sprinkle in half of the cinnamon. Let cook another two minutes, until the banana is warmed through and starting to caramelize. Lower heat, cook another two minutes then set aside to cool.

Blend together eggs, oil and sugar. Slowly add in all dry ingredients and mix until batter is smooth. Add in cooled banana mixture. Evenly divide batter into cupcake pans (I filled 16 cups). Bake for 16 – 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

These came out really well; cooking the banana rather than just mashing up the raw banana adds a whole new depth of flavor to it. The banana flavor was much more pronounced and was nicely complemented by the spices. The cake itself is one of my favorites – it’s a nice dense cake that manages not to be too heavy. We had some of these plain, but I felt that for the sake of completeness I should try frosting them as well. I used a store bought [*gasp!*] cream cheese frosting. It did add a nice extra layer of flavor, but these cupcakes totally don’t need frosting. And I’m not just saying that because a) I’m not a big frosting fan and b) I will never, ever make frosting on this blog.

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Peppermint Brownies

January 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Yes yes, long time. I know, okay? Gimme a break.

This past weekend I had to make some baked goods for work. Thankfully, this should be my last time for awhile, as we’ve recently promoted several people, so now they can bake for the ingrates in my department. Anyhoodle, I wanted to make something different, so I looked up recipes for some sort of minty brownie. I’m not a big chocolate fan, so when I make it, I want it to be something different than the norm. [The exception to this is boxed brownie mix on poker night, because those people don't pay me enough of a rake to get fancy.]

I stumbled across the recipe for this on the Hershey website. And before you think I’m starting to shill for companies, I’m not; there were no Hershey products used during the dubious recreation of this recipe. [But hey, if anyone wants to send me free crap, feel free.] The recipe looked good because the work involved was minimal but it would still taste like something special when I brought to it work. And when I taste-tested it at home the night before.

Peppermint Brownies, adapted from Hershey’s Sensational Peppermint Pattie Brownies

24 small (1.5 inch) chocolate covered peppermint patty candy
3/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup oil
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
5 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cocoa powder [I prefer Dutch-processed, but that's up to you and your conscience.]
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 350 F [or 325 F if using a glass pan as I did].

Mix together butter, oil, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs and beat until blended. Slowly stir in dry ingredients. Reserve two cups of batter, and spread remaining batter in greased/lined pan. Place peppermint patties on top of batter, roughly 1/2 inch apart. Spread remaining batter over the patties.

Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly dry or the brownies start to pull away from the pan.

Now, my end product looks quite different than the one on the original recipe; I assume if I had used the Hershey’s candy recommended, it would have looked more similar. Regardless, these were really tasty, if a bit sticky on the bottom from the melted candy.

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Nothing says fall like squash!

December 1, 2009 By 1 Comment

Especially squash stuffed with sausage.

Man, Kevin Smith is a terrible actor. I totally get the fact that he’s in his own movies – I mean, he’s the boss of them, right? But why is he in Live Free and Die Hard? Actually, now that I’m thinking of it, how is Justin Long a working actor?! Or, the better question is, why am I still watching this movie? I DON’T KNOW.

What I do know, is that this dinner was particularly tasty. I am big on stuffing things with other things [I won't even make the obvious joke], and I feel like squash and sausage is a combination that works incredibly well together. Clearly the rest of the internet agrees with me, as there were eleventy billion stuffed squash recipes that came up in my Google search. And which one did I go with, you ask? Well, none of them! Mostly because I printed out a recipe and left it on my desk at work that night.

This is a near impossible dish to ruin; you’re taking something that is delicious on its own [squash] and stuffing something else delicious [sausage] into it. I’m pretty sure that’s a recipe for success every time. Not only that, but the finished product is not only attractive, but it is essentially its own serving platter. I really can’t think of a way you can go wrong here. Unless you don’t make it.

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Sausage

2 acorn squash, halved and seeded
1 lb sausage, cooked and crumbled (your choice; I used sweet Italian)
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter, softened
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 F. Coat the inside of each of the squash halves with butter, then season with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 – 40 minutes, or until tender.

While the squash is roasting, heat the oil in a pan and then add the diced onions. Cook slowly, on medium-low heat, until starting to caramelize. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant and then remove from heat. In a mixing bowl, combine the bread crumbs, the cooked and crumbled sausage, and onions and garlic with remaining oil. Add in the beaten egg, the seasonings, and cheddar cheese.

Pile all of that into each of the acorn halves. I’m not gonna lie, you’re going to have leftover stuffing. The smart thing to do would be to either increase the squash or scale back on the meat/panko ratios, but what I did was just cooked it in a separate pan so that husband could eat it later. Cook for an additional 20 minutes, until the stuffing is golden brown.

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Lemon Ricotta … biscuits? Muffins?

November 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Little clouds of happiness?

I really have no idea what these are, to be honest. Giada De Laurentiis calls them biscuits, but I don’t know if I buy it. Just because she bats her big eyes at me doesn’t make me trust her!

Also, I have a very sad cat next to me. Our new cat, Paul, was neutered today and he is the saddest sad face of them all. I’m pretty sure he’s a little bit dead inside. He’s young, though – he’ll get over it.

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Now that I’ve exploited my cat for my own personal gain, back to the cooking. [Please, don't ask what I think I'm gaining; I have absolutely no idea.]

IMG_8806IMG_8811

I’ve never actually made any of Giada’s recipes. And yes, I am on first name basis with her, thank you for asking. Give me a break – you try typing that last name over and over again. Then maybe I’ll stop italicizing words. Ahem. I had bookmarked the link to this recipe in my ill-sorted “recipes” bookmark folder forever ago and found it again when I was vainly trying to organize everything into sub-folders. I decided to give it a go, since I had some leftover ricotta cheese from when I made stuffed shells the other day.

IMG_8818The recipe was very easy to follow. The batter was pretty dough-like and sticky, and I was worried I did something wrong. Then again, who knows – maybe I did! But I persevered and put clumps of dough into my muffin pans and hoped for the best while they were baking.

When they came out of the oven, they definitely did not resemble the image from original recipe. They actually ended up looking more biscuit like, which made sense to me given the consistency of the batter. They ended up having a texture pretty similar to pound cake crossed with a biscuit; dense but somehow flaky and light.

These were really good. The husband and I have been snacking on them for the last few days, and they hold up really well. Someone suggested putting butter on them, which I can definitely see as a possibility for one of these fresh out of the oven or even toasted. All melted butter with the little pops of lemon and the creamy ricotta… mmm. Maybe for breakfast!

IMG_8822

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Stuffed shells are technically Italian food.

October 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

The best thing I read at work this week was an email exchange between two of my favorite co-workers, in regards to a work dinner we had tonight.

Co-worker 1: mmmmmmmmmm veal.
Co-worker 2: yes yes but which kind of veal?
Co-worker 1: the most tortured kind they got.

This is amusing to me on a couple of levels: a) co-worker 1, up until about two or three months ago, was a vegetarian for years and years and is now some sort of hardcore meat eater, and b) veal makes everyone react like that! Well, maybe not exactly like that, but veal is one of those meats that makes people either kinda squeamish or drool with the thought of the tender, tender meat melting in your mouth if it’s prepared properly. Me, I’m not so much with the veal love, but my husband is – which brings to me to my point [see, you knew I'd get to it eventually]: the stuffed shells I made recently were made completely with veal, instead of my usual go to of a mixture of pork, beef and veal.

In continuing with my bastardization of foods from a variety of countries, I bring to you “Stuffed Shells alla Michelle” [see, because I italicized it, you're supposed to assume that it's in another language]. I’ve been making stuffed shells for years because it’s always a crowd-pleaser and it’s a pretty easy dish. Since this time I made my own sauce to accompany it instead of slopping on some store bought stuff [don't hate], I decided the dish was now worthy of it’s own entry. Plus, wtf, it’s been two weeks? We’re slacking.

059Sauce:

28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 carrots, peeled and grated finely
1 onion, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1 – 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon kosher salt

The sauce is the easy part, and for some reason, I feel like this is some of the best sauce I’ve made, yet it was so incredibly simple. First cook the diced onions in the olive oil, just until they start to caramelize. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Dump in the tomatoes, and mix to combine. Add in the carrots, to cut the acidity of the tomatoes; depending on how acidic the tomatoes are will determine if you add in the teaspoon of sugar.

Next add in the salt, and then lastly slowly add in the cayenne pepper to your tastes. Now, this is where the husband and I differ [I say that like it's our only difference - ha!]: I like some spice to my food, but he doesn’t. If I had only done a teaspoon of the cayenne, I feel like it would have added some depth of flavor and a bit of a bite. Two teaspoons was a noticeable flavor and one I felt was welcome, given the heaviness of the stuffed shells. Either way, add it slowly and see how you want it to be. You can also omit the cayenne and add in your fresh or dried herb of your choice – basil, thyme, rosemary, etc. It’s a good base that you can build on as you go along.

Stuffed Shells:

1/2 box of large pasta shells
3/4 – 1lb ground meat of choice (veal, in this case)
1/2 – 3/4 cup of ricotta
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the shells according to the package directions. Brown the meat, seasoned with salt and pepper. Drain and cool the shells. Mix the meat with the ricotta, until you have a rich and creamy mixture of the two; adjust seasonings. Stuff about 1.5 tablespoons of meat and ricotta mixture into each shell.

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To get the dish ready for baking, you need to cover the bottom of a 7×11 pan with sauce. Lay the shells in the pan open side up and line up evenly. Once all of the shells are in the pan, drizzle more sauce over the top, and finish off with a layer of mozzarella cheese. Cook in an oven pre-heated to 350 for about 35 – 40 minutes.

Thank me later.

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