Italian Stuffed Shells

My sister was home for about a month from law school, so it's been so great having her around and getting her to help me with wedding planning! So for her birthday I made one of her favorite dishes- Italian stuffed shells. Usually these shells are stuffed with different cheeses (mainly ricotta) and spinach but that usually gets way too heavy so my secret ingredient is tofu. I add some in for extra protein, and you can not tell the difference! I also load it up with loads of veggies- mushrooms, peppers, spinach, olives, tomatoes and zucchini. You can use your favorite pasta sauce and top with your favorite blend of cheeses, this is a great dish to make ahead of time and pop in the oven 30-45 minutes before dinner. Hope you will enjoy it as much as my family did!

Ingredients
- 1 box jumbo shells
- 8 oz Part skim ricotta cheese
- 12oz firm tofu crumbled
- 1 frozen box chopped spinach thawed
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper diced
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms sautéed
- 1/2 cup zucchini diced and sautéed
- 1/4 cup olives
- 1/2 cup diced tomato
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 TSP oregano
- 1 TSP crushed red pepper
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 cups of your favorite pasta sauce
- 2 cups shredded cheese

Directions
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add the jumbo shells with a large pinch of salt, shells with cook in 9-11 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water and set aside.
- In a medium bowl combine ricotta and crumbled tofu and mix thoroughly until everything is well combined. Add basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper to taste, mushrooms, thawed spinach, bell pepper, olives, tomatoes and zucchini and mix together.
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Take cooked shells and stuff them with a heaping TBSP of ricotta mixture (do not over stuff).
- In a large lasagna pan pour 1/2 cup pasta sauce at the bottom, add shells and pour remaining pasta sauce over shells (pour less if you like it a little dry). Sprinkle shredded cheese on top and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is light golden and bubbly.
- Serve immediately!

Savory SKM Lasagna

Happy Sunday! Hope y'all had as great of a weekend as I did.  My weekend was filled with some much needed R&R, followed watching the world cup, followed by some good food & hanging out with my family (and spoiled rotten dog).  Now I don't know about you, but I can't imagine a more perfect weekend than that.  I call today's recipe SKM because it's packed with Spinach,  Kale, & Mushrooms...3 of my all time favorite ingredients.  This recipe is pretty healthy (well as healthy as lasagna can be) and delicious.  I hope you try it at home and enjoy it with your family as much as I enjoyed it with mine!

Ingredients:
1/2 box of lasagna noodles, cooked
3-4 cups sauce (click here for a similar recipe)
1 cup spinach
1 cup kale
1 regular size package of baby bella mushrooms
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 green bell pepper, finely diced
1 tsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
crushed red pepper flakes
black pepper
dash of Italian Seasoning
8 oz of fat free ricotta cheese
1.5 cups mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1.  Cook lasagna noodles according to the directions on the package.  Rinse with cold water and let them dry for a while (I actually left mine in a strainer and covered with a dish for about an hour).
2.  In the meantime, heat EVOO, add spinach, kale, pepper flakes, Italian seasoning & sauté for roughy 2 minutes or so unit it starts to wilt.  Remove from heat & mix in a bowl with ricotta cheese.
3.  In a separate pan, sauté mushrooms using just a bit of EVOO until they are thoroughly cooked and all the water has burned off.  Remove from heat and mix in a bowl with the diced bell peppers.
4.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Directions to ensemble the lasagna:
1.  In a baking dish, first place a spoon full of sauce and a drizzle of EVOO.
2.  Place a cooked noodle on top.
3.  Spread a good amount of the kale, spinach, and ricotta mixture on top.
4.  Place another cooked noodle on top.
5.  Place a spoonful of the mushroom and bell pepper mixture on top and spread it.
6.  Place another noodle on top & continue to layer following the steps above in order.
7.  On the very top layer, add sauce on top of the noodle, and sprinkle with mozzarella.
8.  Place foil on top and bake for roughly 20 minutes.
9.  Remove the foil after 20 minutes and cook for another 15.
10. Broil for  another 5 until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown on top.
11. Cut the lasagna once it has cooled & enjoy!!!

Pesto Pasta

One of my favorite herbs to cook with is basil. I absolutely love the taste of it and try to find as many uses for it as possible.  This particular dish is one of my all time favorites.  It's not only refreshing and delicious, but it's also easy to make and can be whipped up in no time at all! Try making it at home and let us know how you like it.

Ingredients:

1/2 box of your favorite pasta 

1/4th cup of pesto (click here for recipe)

2 TBSP EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup broccoli florets

1/3 cup sliced red bell pepper

1/4 cup (maybe a bit less) of black olives sliced

2-3 TBSP of pine nuts (optional)

2 TBSP Delallo brand Artichoke Bruschetta

2 TBSP Delallo brand Olive Bruschetta

2-3 TBSP sun dried tomatoes

1/2 TBSP crushed red pepper flakes

Salt & pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1.  Cook pasta al dente by following the directions on the box & save 3-4 ladles of the starchy water that the pasta cooked in.  

2.  In a non stick pan, heat EVOO on medium to low heat.

3.  After about a minute, add crushed red pepper flakes and cook for another minute (you will smell the pepper cooking).

4.  Add pine nuts and cook them for about 3 minutes until they turn golden brown.

5.  Add sun dried tomatoes, artichoke bruschetta, olive bruschetta, black olives, mushrooms,  bell peppers, & broccoli florets and cook until all of the water released by the veggies has evaporated. 

6.  While the veggies are cooking, in a separate bowl, mix the pesto with a ladle or two of the starchy water. You want to mix enough water so that the pesto becomes saucy but not too thin or runny.  I just start by mixing a little bit of water and adding more as needed (roughly 2 ladles - maybe a little more).  

7.  Once the water from the cooking veggies has evaporates, add a little (about 3 TBSP) of the pesto mixture, & stir in the cooked pasta.

8.  Add remainder of the pesto sauce mixture, salt, pepper, stir, and cook for until everything is thoroughly heated.

9.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese & serve.