Stuffed Pasta Shells

My stepmom used to make a similar recipe when we were growing up and I adapted it to suit my husband's taste.

1 box large pasta shells, cooked according to the directions
1 large zucchini, diced fine
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1 large onion, diced fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup white mushrooms, diced fine
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp e.v. olive oil
1 small (a pint?) of part skim ricotta cheese
Parmesan cheese (you decide how much)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 jar marinara sauce

While pasta shells are cooking, combine the zucchini, carrots, onion, garlic, and mushrooms in a large saute pan with the olive oil and salt and pepper. Saute until onion is semi soft. Remove from pan and let cool. Also let the pasta shells cool after they are done (I put them in cool water). Add ricotta to the vegetable mixture and add some Parmesan cheese. In a large baking dish (13x9) coat the bottom with some marinara sauce. Take one pasta shell and place 1 tbsp of mixture inside and place in the baking dish. Repeat until dish is full. Top with remaining marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. cover and bake at 350 until heated through. uncover the last 10 min or so.

*** sorry my recipes are so unorganized. I cook from my head rather than a cookbook so sometimes it doesn't translate well to paper (errr computer).

Next up tonight: roasted butternut squash!

Happy Father's Day

Tonight I'm going to make my husband a nice Father's Day dinner since we went out last night to celebrate 'MY' dad... tonight is just for him.

I have on the menu tonight...

Appetizer:
Bruschetta and some sauteed shrimp w/herbs and garlic

Main Course:
Grilled Rib-Eye Steak marinated in fresh parsley, balsamic vinegar, shallot, crushed garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil
Roasted Parsley Red Potatoes
Grilled Zucchini and Peppers

Dessert:
Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee

Catching Up

Sorry I've been MIA on this blog... work has blocked the site and it's hard to concentrate on this stuff when I'm at home with the hubby and 3 year old.

Anyways... a couple recipes tried and yummy for you

Banana Pecan Muffins

3 large ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 C sugar
2 eggs
6 T butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 C buttermilk
1 C chopped pecans or walnuts

Combine bananas, sugar and eggs in large bowl and beat until well combined. Stir in melted butter and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda, buttermilk and nuts. Stir just until combined. Do not overmix. Spoon into 10-12 muffin cups. Bake at 350 F 18-20 minutes.

BBQ Braised Short Ribs

2-3 Sweet Onions (I used vidalias) sliced
4 cloves of garlic, diced fine
1 bottle 'Sweet Baby Ray's' BBQ sauce
2 small cans low sodium beef broth
boneless beef short ribs cut into 1 1/2 inch squares

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
season meat with salt and pepper, sear in dutch oven heated with a few tablespoons of olive oil.
remove meat when browned on both sides, saute onions until almost soft, add garlic for a couple minutes, then deglaze with one can of beef broth. Add meat back into oven cover with remaining can of broth and bottle of BBQ sauce. Bring to a boil then cover and transfer the dutch oven into the oven. Cook for a total of 3 hours or until the meat practically melts and the sauce reduces to your desired consistency - make sure you stir every 45 min.

Serve over rice, vegetables, on sandwiches, etc.

My love of Trader Joe's

Goodness I know everyone blogs about Trader Joe's but you have to understand where I live. I live in the BOONIES. I have to drive 45 min to go to a nice grocery store and 15 to go to a mediocre one. Trader Joe's is in Palmdale so when I drive the 45 min I make sure I have a cooler in the car...

I always pick up the following:

• canned crabmeat (for crabcakes or crabdip in a jiffy)
• aborio rice (for risotto)
• goat cheese (for pizza or salads)
• parmigiano-reggiano (hello? if you have to ask...)
• heavy cream (this tastes better than the brand I get at Stater Bros.)
• basil (they have LARGE bunches for cheap so making pesto or bruschetta is cost effective and fresher than the crap at the other store)
• frozen shrimp (best quality I've found so far and I live in the desert so fresh shrimp is non existent)
• frozen raspberries/blueberries(again best quality I've found - used for smoothies, dessert sauces, sorbet, pancakes, muffins, etc.)
• quick frozen stir-fry meals (98% fat free but tasty and inexpensive)
• marscapone cheese and lady fingers (if I'm making tiramisu)
• raw almonds
• french baguette (for bruschetta, for heavy toast w/ eggs, for anything...)
• WINE

Wine Tasting

mmmm Wine.

Last night I ditched school and went with my sister (Annie) and stepsister (Julie) to Tina's to their monthly wine tasting.

Basically it's just good food and wine for a set price. This month's theme was South America (Argentina/Chile).

We started off with an Argentina salad with roasted peppers, red onion and a tart dressing.
Next we had Empanadas - the filling was great with green olive, beef and egg
Following that we had a stuffed pasta that was ravioli-like filled with a creamy meat filling that just melted in your mouth. Next was the Gaucho Steak, cooked perfectly medium rare and with a chimichurri sauce - So yummy. Desert was a choice of a lemon cake or cappuccino cake. Eh.

The wine wasn't spectacular. I liked the chardonnay we had with the salad and the malbec we had with the empanadas but I could have done without the others.

Not the best wine tasting I've been to at Tina's but a good effort. The food was worth the pricetag but I'm not sure I'll pick up any of those wines.

Why I love Southern CA...

I'm going to meet my friend who is visiting from Texas tonight and we are going out for margaritas and Mexican food.

Before I ever stepped out of my small town and my Grandma's kitchen, I never knew that other parts of the country and their Mexican food contained GROUND BEEF! Oh the horror! It seriously defies all that I consider to be my Mexican culture but of course... I was sadly sheltered from A LOT!

Anyways... local Mexican restaurants do not, I repeat, DO NOT have any dishes with ground beef unless you order a hamburger (which why for the love of all that is good and holy would you do that at a Mexican restaurant...) . I love my podunk Mexican restaurants here in Southern CA. With my brief stint in Northern CA I can go on and on about the Mexican food I encountered there as well and it is equally delish although I found a few places that served ground beef and those places I just avoided ;)

So tonight I'm looking forward to my lovely margarita with lots of salt, my plate of carnitas with healthy doses of cilantro, tomato, onion and jalapeno w/ rice and beans and if I'm as hungry as I'm making myself... I'll start with a cup of Albondigas (meatball soup) and ask for a side of fresh cilantro and lime.

Sidenote* I need to try and make my own Albondigas, I think a call to Grandma is in order.

What's for lunch today...

So my husband is lame and won't eat cucumber and I had some left over so I decided to make a veggie sandwich to take to work. And I had some pumpernickel bread (which I LOVE and he HATES).

Bear with me... this recipe is all over the place.

Cucumber Dill on Pumpernickel

cucumber, sliced very thin
pumpernickel bread
mix tiny amount of butter, mayo, itsy itsy bit of horseradish, and some dill
fresh ground pepper to taste.

Put sandwich together and enjoy. This made two sandwiches, one I ate for lunch and the other was to sample while I was getting ready for work and I couldn't finish it with Nate hanging onto my leg so I had to let go of the sandwich or the coffee and the coffee and toddler won :)