Spinach & Four-Cheese Stuffed Shells with Marinara Sauce

I got this craving for a stuffed pasta dish, so I hunted all over the internet for a recipe I liked. I found one that looked easy (enough) and delicious, so I thought I'd try it on my next day off. The gal who submitted the recipe also had a recipe for the sauce, so I tried that as well. And although I bought manicotti, I was not confident enough that I could stuff them properly, so I chose to cook the giant shell pasta. Our friends came over and we devoured 95% of it! Anyways, it was yummy, and I'll make it again, with a few minor tweaks, I'm sure.

First up, the marinara sauce.
3 - 4 Tbl. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 - 6 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbl. dried basil
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste (can use two for thicker, richer sauce)
1 (28 oz.) can whole tomatoes, undrained and broken up with a fork before cooking
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt (I used more)
fresh ground black pepper to taste

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add in onions, garlic, dried red pepper flakes, basil and oregano; saute for 3 - 4 minutes.
3. Add in tomato paste and stir for 2 - 3 minutes.
4. Add in the tomatoes with their juice; simmer uncovered over low heat for 1 - 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
5. Season with salt, pepper and sugar.
(for a thinner sauce, add in some water)

stuffed pasta

3 Tbl. oil
1/4 c. onion, finely chopped
2 tsp. fresh garlic (about 2 cloves)
1 1/2 c. ricotta cheese
1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese (can use a bit more)
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 c. grated parmesan cheese (can use a bit more)
1 tsp. italian seasoning
salt to taste
1/2 - 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper (or to taste)
1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach (cooked according to package directions, then hand-squeezed dry to remove excess moisture)
10 manicotti (or 3/4 box large shells), cooked and drained
4 - 6 c. marinara sauce (see above)
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
mozzarella cheese, for topping

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter a 9" x 13" baking dish.
3. In a skillet, saute onion in oil for about 4 minutes or until softened (add in garlic the last 2 minutes).
4. In a mixing bowl combine ricotta cheese, 1 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese, cream cheese, 6 Tbl. parmesan cheese, italian seasoning; beat until smooth and well combined.
5. Stir in onion mixture and spinach, season and mix well to combine.
6. Spoon into cooked and cooled shells.
7. Pour half of the pasta sauce into the baking dish.
8. Arrange shells over sauce, top with remaining sauce.
9. Sprinkle about 1/4 c. parmesan cheese (or less) over the sauce.
10. Cover and bake for 25 minutes.
11. Uncover and top with mozzarella cheese, bake 5 minutes longer, or until cheese is melted.
12. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Spaghetti

This recipe comes from my family cookbook, courtesy of my Aunt Karri. I just modified it a little to our tastes and it was delicious! I grew up having Prego (which I love and is great, don't get me wrong), but I wanted to try my hand at making a more traditional sauce. Zak loved it (always a good sign), and I will probably make this more often in the future. Enjoy with garlic bread and salad, which is what we did!

1/2 lb. ground beef (the original recipe calls for 1 lb., but I figured we didn't need that much meat)
3/4 onion (original recipe calls for 2, but I used a pretty large onion), diced
1 large can stewed tomatoes (I used Italian style)
1 can tomato paste + 1 can water
1/2 tsp. basil (I used two large leaves from our plant)
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. sugar
3 1/2 tsp. salt
1 garlic clove, crushed

1. Brown meat with diced onions.
2. Add all other ingredients.
3. Simmer covered for 1 1/2 hours.

simple & delicious, yum!

Lasagna

I have always loved lasagna. My cousin Matt who is a year older than me, and I would always 'fight' over who would have lasagna for their birthday dinner as children. His birthday is in November, mine is a month later, so we figured we couldn't have lasagna twice in two months. That doesn't quite make sense now, but that's how I remember it. Tonight I decided to make lasagna for no reason at all, just felt like it would be delicious. My mom's recipe is simple and delicious and tonight I only halved the recipe, but I'll post the entire recipe for those who are cooking for more than two people.

1 lb. ground beef
3/4 c. chopped onion (opt.)
16 oz. small curd cottage cheese
1 lb. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
1 lb. box lasagna noodles
1 jar prepared spaghetti sauce (Prego) [I used Ragu tonight and added: minced garlic, salt, oregano and basil from my plant until it tasted great]

1. In a large skillet, brown beef & onion. When browned, add spaghetti sauce and simmer until noodles are mostly done cooking.
2. Add cooked noodles (following the directions on the box) to rapidly boiling water. Make sure to be careful so they don't break! Cook until soft but still firm - not too tender.
3. In a 9"x13" pan, spread about 1/2 c. of the sauce. Alternate layers as follows: lasagna, sauce, cottage cheese, mozzarella and parmesan cheese; ending with sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes until lightly browned and bubbly. Allow to stand 10 minutes before cutting into squares & serving.

about to start assembling

finished layering, about to go into the oven

delicious layers

yum!

White Pasta Cheese Sauce

I grew up having this white cheese sauce and I absolutely love it; the Alfredo stuff at restaurants is not as good, in my opinion. My mom will make this sauce along with a simple red sauce when we have pasta for dinner. I lucked out; the first time I made this for Zak, he fell in love with it. Sometimes he'll request this rather than spaghetti sauce! The last few months I've experimented with using a little less butter and adding mozzarella cheese--it's also quite tasty.

3/4 c. butter
1/2 c. flour
4 c. milk
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
*try adding 1/4 c. mozzarella cheese also
salt and pepper

1. Melt butter in microwave [usually about 1:30 minutes]
2. Stir in flour; cook on high 2 - 3 minutes.
3. Whisk in milk; cook on high 3 minutes.
4. Stir with whisk; cook again for 2 minutes on high.
5. Stir again with whisk; cook on high for 1 minutes.
6. If sauce needs to thicken, continue to cook on high for 1 minute increments, just be careful to watch so sauce doesn't bubble up.
7. Add cheese(s) and salt and pepper to desired taste.
8. Serve over any pasta; we love bowties, shells, and spirals.