Get Stuffed

They really are easy. There is absolutely nothing difficult about making stuffed shells.

For some reason, stuffed things are considered impressive. People find it amazing that you can put one thing inside another. This is a basic skill we learn as toddlers, people. You mastered this when you were 2. And so with this post I set out to prove to people that they really can put one thing inside another. There is absolutely nothing fancy about this dish. The ingredients are basic, as few as I could get away with, and the assembly takes little more skill than most kids have. Just don't burn yourself on the stove.

Stuffed Shells

What you need:

(as usual, I made as little as possible, but this is easily doubled)

• 1/2 box of large shell pasta
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/4 c fresh basil
• 1 large bunch (or bag if your grocery is out of bunches) of spinach
• 1 c ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 large tin of tomato sauce (this is the unseasoned kind, really just finely crushed tomatos, so yes, you could use a tin of crushed instead)
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1-1/2 c mozzarella cheese

What you gotta do:

Start a big pot of water boiling.

Dice the onion and mince the garlic.

Lay a bunch of basil leaves on top of each other, roll them up, and slice the roll. This is called "chiffonade" ing the basil.

I've done it before with spinach, and Taneasha showed you basil in her salad post. You should be a pro at this by now.

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan. Sautee half of the onion and half of the garlic and half of the basil in the oil until the onion is starting to look soft.

Dump in your spinach.

Cover it for a bit to get the bottom layer wilted, then do your best to flip the not-wilty leaves down to the bottom.

Eventually, it will all be wilty and you can put it into a bowl.

Your water should be boiling by now. Add shells to it; 18 or 20 should do. Stir them every couple minutes so they don't get stuck to the bottom, or to each other.

Heat the other tbsp of olive oil in the pan you just dumped the spinach out of. Add the other half of the onion and garlic, and sautee them for a few minutes before pouring in your tomato stuff (sauce or crushed).

Oh yeah, salt and pepper. I always seem to forget to mention them in the ingredients and the steps. Add a bit of salt and pepper.

Add the balsamic vinegar,

and then the other half of the basil.

Give that a good stir and turn the heat down as low as you can while still letting it simmer gently.

Now, back to the spinach.

Add the ricotta and the eggs to the bowl that has the spinach in it and mix it well.

Are your shells done? Good. Stir the sauce one more time, then drain the pasta. You're going to need to rinse the shells with cold water a few times so you can handle them.

Now, I'm making dinner for tonight and for next week, so I'm using 2 pans, but if you're planning on feeding more than 1 or 2 people at once, you might want to opt for one large pan. Cover the bottom with a bit of oil, then spoon in a bit of sauce.

Now for the easy part. Yes, I know, it's been horribly gruelling up to this point. Confusing, hard to follow, advanced techniques, and bizarre ingredients we've never seen before in our lives.

Okay, so back to being toddlers. Hold a shell in one hand, and with your other, spoon some of the spinach-ricotta mixture into the shell. Okay, wait, you might have missed that: one hand has a shell, the other hand has a spoon. Spoon stuff into the shell. Concentrate. You can do it. I know you can.

Yay!

Okay, one down, 19 to go....

It's not the tidiest process, no, but the finished product hides a lot of the mess.

Once you've got a pan full of stuffed shells, cover them with more sauce, then layer on your cheese.

You can grate yours if you'd like, but I find it easier to locate indivudual shells if they've each got a nice little strip of mozza on top of them.

Bake them at 350 (totally preheated your oven, I know you did) for about 20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is nice and melty.

If you split yours into two pans, cover the other one with foil and freeze it. Take it out of the freezer in the morning and let it thaw in the fridge while you go about your day. That one will need more like 30 minutes to get hot and bubbly since it's starting at fridge temp.

Now, these things look lovely in the pan, but plating them...

Not the prettiest presentation ever, but they taste damn good, they require a minimal number of easily acquired ingredients, and you can make the filling and the sauce in the time it takes to boil pasta.

And they come off as very impressive merely because you managed to fit one thing inside of another.

Add a bit of nice bread, a tumbler of wine, and someone wonderful to share it with, and you've got a fancy schmancy dinner.

What do you like to stuff?

Pasta: Salad the Sequel

Yeah, I know, I made a salad last week.  But really, watermelon salad and pasta salad can hardly be considered part of the same category.  Besides, during these hot summer months, what sounds better than some kind of cool salad?  They’re simple, refreshing, and delicious. 

There are a million and one ways to make a pasta salad.  Here’s what you’ll need for the one I threw together today:

1 pound pasta (uncooked)
¼ pound cheese
1 bell pepper
1 cup grape tomatoes
¾ - 1 pound bacon (uncooked)
¾ cups mayo
¼ cup mustard
3 Tablespoons vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon sugar
¼ cup chives

Oops.  Somehow I forgot to include bacon in my picture.

In spite of my repeated trips to Home Goods, Target, and Kohl’s, and my many deliveries from Amazon, I still haven’t managed to procure a sheet pan.  Yes, I really did get rid of everything when I moved.  So although the real thing is a gazillion times better, if you happen to be in a predicament like me, or it’s just too hot to turn on the oven (I refuse to go back to cooking bacon on the stove) go ahead and use the precooked stuff.  Just make sure to crisp it up in the microwave first. 

The first thing we need to do is get the dressing made and out of the way.  In a small bowl combine the mayo, mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar. 

Chop your chives.

Then throw them into the bowl, whisk everything together and pop it into the fridge. 

Cook your pasta according to the package directions, then drain it and rinse with cold water. 

While the pasta is cooking, feel free to work on your chopping.  Just don’t forget to stir from time to time.

Any color bell pepper will be fine.  I chose green because they looked the best.  Dice it up into fairly small pieces.  If you cut strips and line them up, it makes the process quick and easy. 

Halve your tomatoes, or quarter them if they’re really big.  If you can get your hands on a variety of different colors of the little guys, they’re fun and fabulous in something like this.  (Whoa!  That was a little too Rachael Ray like for my comfort.)

I used an extra sharp cheddar.  I love the texture of cheddar, and the tang of one that’s been really aged… Yum! 

Dice it up, followed by the bacon and throw them all in a bowl with your (now cold) pasta. 

Pour on your dressing and stir gently until everything is evenly distributed and coated. 

I like to just load up a bowl and eat it as a meal, but it’s also a fabulous side to whatever you’re grilling this weekend. 

Do you have a favorite pasta salad?