Erica's Stuffed Shells

In our lives, we experience so many "firsts."

We have our first words, first steps, first loves, first kisses, and so on.

Yesterday I had a second something.

I had my second baby shower.

However, this was my first BOY baby shower.

It still shocks me that I'm having a boy. We were beyond convinced that we would have 2 girls. But alas...

Yesterday, as I'm opening all these blue blankets and boy centered presents, I couldn't help but think about Little Butt.

My baby girl is only 4 but she has experienced so much already. But yet, she has so much still to live through.

The night that my friend Erica came over and brought these stuffed shells with her, oh so many years ago, was the same night that Little Butt took her first steps.

The Hubble was off training (as he does sometimes) and was due back home the next day. So Erica and I decided to have a girl food night before he came home.

We were eating these shells and watching Top Chef (a new to me show that I was introducing Erica to) when Little Butt did it! She was 11 months old and teetered from the couch to the chair where I was sitting, all by herself!

As Erica and I clapped and laughed, and yes, cried, I couldn't help but think how The Hubble had missed it.

With this new baby, The Hubble will miss his entire first year. But it's the life. It's what we do. It's what we signed up for.

I don't ever want you all to think that I'm complaining. Honestly, this is all I know having grown up an Army Brat.

But again, this is my life and this is what I have to talk about. These are my experiences. This is life. And that is all.

Though The Hubble will miss many firsts in our children's lives, I hope that he will be here for so many others.

Maybe he will be here for Little Butt's first crush, first heartbreak, first baby??

Maybe he will be here for Baby N's first day of school, first soccer game, first sleep over.

But...maybe not.

My job is to make sure I document these firsts and try to make him as involved as possible.

Memories are often centered around smells and sounds. To me, they center around foods.

Whenever I make these shells I get to relive Little Butt's first steps and the love that we have for our family and friends who have been able to experience our lives with us.

I'm sure you have similar stories, and I would love to hear about them!

As I share this recipe with you today, please think about the meals that have been essential to some of your best memories. And feel free to share them with me!

Until then...let's get cooking some memory making stuffed shells!

In a medium mixing bowl, mix together your ricotta and parmesan cheeses, basil, salt, pepper and spinach. Please pay no attention to the red pepper flakes in the picture. I goofed. But it wasn't bad. ;-)

Then, get your lovely assistant to take your partially cooked shells and stuff them with the mixture. Place them back in your baking dish.

Now for the sauce! In a large saucepan, heat some oil then throw in the garlic.

Toss in your marinara and FOR REAL, the red pepper flakes. Mix it all together and cook until heated through.

Pour the sauce over the stuffed shells and top with the mozzarella.

Toss in the oven and bake until the mixture is heated through and the top is a golden brown.

Allow to cool, serve and enjoy!!!

Erica's Stuffed Shells

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Ingredients:

• 1 box (12 ounce) Jumbo shells
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 5 cups marinara sauce
• 2 (15 ounce) containers ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese
• 3 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped (or 3 teaspoons dried)
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Partially cook the shells in a large pot of boiling salted water (about 6 minutes, shells will cook more in oven).
3. Using a slotted spoon, remove shells to a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
4. In a medium medium mixing bowl, mix together ricotta, parmesan, basil, salt, pepper and spinach until well incorporated. 
5. Fill shells with cheese mixture (about 2 teaspoons per shell), arrange shells back in the baking dish.
6. To make the sauce, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat until glistening. Saute garlic about 30 seconds. Add in marinara and red pepper flakes. Stir and heat until warm throughout.
7. Pour marinara over prepared shells.
8. Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over shells and sauce in the baking dish.
9. Bake in the lower 1/3 of the oven until filling is heated through and top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
10. Let cool, serve and enjoy!!!

Garlic Chicken & Veggies Over Angelhair

As the days of summer bring climbing temperatures I find myself not wanting to be in the kitchen cooking.

And when I do go in to cook, I want the meal I'm creating to be light and fresh. Nothing too heavy. It's too hot for that.

Mostly, I'm loving my grill. But sometimes you just don't want to stand out in the heat over a fired up grill.

Instead, let's stay in a nice, air conditioned kitchen. Yeah...that sounds nice.

One of my favorite dishes to make when the weather heats up is this light pasta dish that I learned from my mother in law.

I love it because it's not an exact science. It all depends on how much you want of each ingredient.

You can make this meal as veggie heavy or as chicken heavy as you want.

The only thing that you can't slack on is the garlic. But you all know how I feel about garlic!

So...kick up that a/c and let's get cooking!

Start by putting some water on to boil. Add some chicken bouillon to give it a...well...a chickeny flavor.

Heat up your skillet, toss in some olive oil and some garlic and saute about 30 seconds to a minute.

Add your carrots, sprinkle with garlic salt and saute until tender. Once cooked, remove the carrots and set them aside.

Now we start the process again. Oil, garlic, saute 30 seconds. But this time we add broccoli with a sprinkling of garlic salt. Saute until tender. Remove to the bowl with the carrots, set aside.

About now you want to throw your noodles into the boiling chicken flavored water. When they are done cooking, drain the noodles, reserving 1 cup of the broth. Toss the noodles in a little olive oil to keep them from sticking together.

And one more time! Oil, garlic, 30 seconds. Chicken, garlic salt, saute until cooked through. Instead of removing the chicken though...

(PS. This is the original dish I made for the Tyson Grilled & Ready recipe. I used 1 1/2 cups of the diced chicken here)

We add the veggies back into the skillet so everything can heat back up.

Add in the broth from the noodles and let it cook for about 5 minutes to let the juices soak into the broccoli.

Serve chicken and veggies over a bed of angel hair pasta. Enjoy with a crisp cold glass of fruity white wine on a hot summer night. Enjoy!!

Garlic Chicken & Veggies Over Angelhair

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Ingredients:

• 4 large carrots, sliced
• 1 bag broccoli florets
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, diced
• 1 package angelhair pasta
• 1 cube chicken bouillon
• 4 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus more for tossing in pasta
• 3 Tablespoons garlic, minced
• Garlic salt

Directions:

1. For the pasta: Cook the pasta according the the package. In the boiling water add chicken bouillon before adding pasta. Reserve 1 cup of broth prior to draining. Toss pasta with Olive Oil.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. 
3. Add 1 Tablespoon olive oil and 1 Tablespoon minced garlic. Saute about 30 seconds. 
4. Add carrot slices, sprinkle with garlic salt. Cook until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Place carrots in a large bowl, set aside.
5. To the skillet, again add 1 Tablespoon olive oil and 1 Tablespoon minced garlic. Saute about 30 seconds.
6. Add broccoli florets, sprinkle with garlic salt. Cook until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Place broccoli in bowl with carrots. Set aside.
7. To the skillet, again add 1 Tablespoon olive oil and 1 Tablespoon minced garlic. Saute about 30 seconds.
8. Add diced chicken, sprinkle with garlic salt. Cook until heated through, about 8 minutes.
9. Add veggies back into skillet with chicken. Pour in reserved broth from pasta. Cover and let simmer another 5-10 minutes or until broccoli soaks up some of the juices.
10. Serve chicken, veggies and juice over a bed of the pasta.
11. Serve and enjoy!!

Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta

Okay guys.

Are you ready for the best pasta I've ever made???

Because this stuff was good.

And not just good...but GEWD!!!

I recently joined Foodbuzz's Featured Publisher program and was excited when I received my first Foodbuzz Tastemaker email.

The email was about Tyson® Grilled & Ready® frozen, prepared chicken or beef.

I wracked my brain for a couple weeks (while we were moving) as to what I would make for this program.

To be honest, I made a different dish first. But after throwing together this dish a night or two later (and tasting how delicious it was!) the consensus with me and my family was that this is the dish I should post.

This dish is super easy and amazingly good.

Now let me tell you about the Tyson® Grilled & Ready®. It's actually pretty awesome.

The Hubble was suspicious about the whole thing and didn't think it would taste like real meat. But it does. It's fantastic to have on hand (I'm buying another bag on our next grocery trip) for those weeknight dinners when you just need to throw some stuff together and feed people quickly.

Okay. On to today's dish. Which you seriously will NOT want to miss.

Remember this pesto we made on Monday??

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

We are going to need that. We are going to use a couple cups of that and turn it into a pasta sauce. YUM!!

This is literally beyond any pasta dish I've made yet. And every person who has tasted it agrees that it trumps the meal I made for the Tastemaker program previously.

So let's get cooking...

Spray your skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Heat it over medium-high heat. Now toss in your onion and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Toss in your Tyson® Grilled & Ready® diced chicken and heat until cooked through, 3-5 minutes.

Now dump in your pesto...

And cream. Stir it all up and heat it until warmed through. Add garlic salt to taste.

Toss the sauce over your prepared noodles until the noodles are all coated. Serve it up with some garlic bread (and extra grated Parmesan on top if you like). Enjoy!!!

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a coupon for free Tyson® Grilled & Ready®. But the thoughts provided are my own.

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta

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Ingredients:

• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 cups Tyson® Grilled & Ready® diced chicken
• 2 cups roasted red pepper pesto
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• Linguini noodles
• garlic salt, to taste
• grated Parmesan (optional)

Directions:

1. Prepare pasta as per directions on the package.
2. Spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat.
3. Saute garlic and onion in skillet until tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Add Tyson Grilled & Ready diced chicken until cooked through, about 3-5 minutes.
5. Add pesto and heavy cream, heat until warm.
6. Add garlic salt to taste.
7. Toss over linguini, making sure pasta is fully coated with sauce.
8. Top with grated Parmesan. Serve and enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta

Okay guys.

Are you ready for the best pasta I've ever made???

Because this stuff was good.

And not just good...but GEWD!!!

I recently joined Foodbuzz's Featured Publisher program and was excited when I received my first Foodbuzz Tastemaker email.

The email was about Tyson® Grilled & Ready® frozen, prepared chicken or beef.

I wracked my brain for a couple weeks (while we were moving) as to what I would make for this program.

To be honest, I made a different dish first. But after throwing together this dish a night or two later (and tasting how delicious it was!) the consensus with me and my family was that this is the dish I should post.

This dish is super easy and amazingly good.

Now let me tell you about the Tyson® Grilled & Ready®. It's actually pretty awesome.

The Hubble was suspicious about the whole thing and didn't think it would taste like real meat. But it does. It's fantastic to have on hand (I'm buying another bag on our next grocery trip) for those weeknight dinners when you just need to throw some stuff together and feed people quickly.

Okay. On to today's dish. Which you seriously will NOT want to miss.

Remember this pesto we made on Monday??

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

We are going to need that. We are going to use a couple cups of that and turn it into a pasta sauce. YUM!!

This is literally beyond any pasta dish I've made yet. And every person who has tasted it agrees that it trumps the meal I made for the Tastemaker program previously.

So let's get cooking...

Spray your skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Heat it over medium-high heat. Now toss in your onion and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Toss in your Tyson Grilled & Ready diced chicken and heat until cooked through, 3-5 minutes.

Now dump in your pesto...

And cream. Stir it all up and heat it until warmed through. Add garlic salt to taste.

Toss the sauce over your prepared noodles until the noodles are all coated. Serve it up with some garlic bread (and extra grated Parmesan on top if you like). Enjoy!!!

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a coupon for free Tyson® Grilled & Ready®. But the thoughts provided are my own.

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta

Printer Friendly Version

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 cups Tyson Grilled & Ready diced chicken
• 2 cups roasted red pepper pesto
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• Linguini noodles
• garlic salt, to taste
• grated Parmesan (optional)

Directions:

1. Prepare pasta as per directions on the package.
2. Spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat.
3. Saute garlic and onion in skillet until tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Add Tyson Grilled & Ready diced chicken until cooked through, about 3-5 minutes.
5. Add pesto and heavy cream, heat until warm.
6. Add garlic salt to taste.
7. Toss over linguini, making sure pasta is fully coated with sauce.
8. Top with grated Parmesan. Serve and enjoy!

Easy Party Pasta Salad

Today I realized something crazy. I realized...it's August! Can you believe it??? Yeah...me neither.

Seriously, where has this year gone? It's already halfway over. We are on the downhill slide.

However, Summer is still in full swing. And it is HOT.

So what goes best with Summer? Cook outs of course! And we all know that no cook out is complete without at least ONE pasta salad right??

It's actually kind of funny because my pasta salad has been made and requested at least 3 times in the last couple of weeks (that I can remember).

I first learned about this pasta salad from a friend back in my former life as a bookseller. Over the years I've adapted it and made it mine. I even had to teach my sisters how to make it because my family loves it so.

I think most everyone has a version of this pasta salad, but I'm going to share mine with you. I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients: tri-color rotini (because it's pretty), Monterey Jack cheese, cherry tomatoes, diced pepperoni, black olives, Italian dressing seasoning and Italian dressing (zesty Italian if you prefer). You will also need a bit of extra virgin olive oil but I didn't take a picture of it.

Start by bringing some water to a boil.

Toss in your pasta and cook as per the directions on the package.

When the pasta is finished, drain it...

And rinse thoroughly with cold water. The point is to cool the noodles here.

Once the pasta is cool, toss it into a bowl (I chose one with a lid that I would serve the salad from later).

Pour just a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil on the pasta so as to lightly coat them. This will help them to not stick together.

Toss in the Italian dressing seasoning.

And stir the pasta until well coated with the olive oil and seasoning. Now put the lid on and toss this in the fridge to chill the noodles completely and let the seasoning stick to the pasta and make it nice and flavorful.

After a couple hours (right before serving) drain the olives and throw them in the bowl with the pasta...

Then dump in the pepperoni...

And tomatoes.

And stir it all up.

Cut your cheese into chunks...

Toss them in the bowl...

And mix it up again.

Finally...dump in the Italian dressing...

Stir it all up...

Serve and enjoy! This is best eaten with your favorite cook out foods or even by itself. It's way yummy!

Easy Party Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 lb tri-color rotini
• 1 packet Italian dressing seasoning
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 can whole black olives; drained
• 1 package diced pepperoni (if you can't find diced you can use sliced and just quarter the slices)
• 1 package cherry tomatoes
• 1 block Monterey jack cheese; cubed
• 1 bottle Italian dressing (regular or zesty)

Directions:

1. Cook rotini as per directions on package, drain and rinse with cold water.
2. Toss pasta with a bit of extra virgin olive oil so noodles don't stick together. Add Italian dressing seasoning packet and mix until rotini is evenly coated with oil and seasoning; refrigerate until rotini is completely chilled (about 1 hour or more).
3. Add black olives, pepperoni and tomatoes; stir until well combined.
4. Immediately before serving add cubed cheese and Italian dressing; stir until well combined and fully coated.
5. Serve and enjoy!