Stuffed Shells with Tomato Cream Sauce

Oh hey, remember me?  Yeah, I used to blog here!  Well, that was before I was pregnant and could eat food…let me clarify…look at food without having the sudden urge to puke.  I'm 19 weeks today and I think I might be feeling a tad better.  I really don't want to jinx myself but this might be the real deal.  

The other day I had the energy and lapse of nausea I have been dreaming of for quite some time and made these delicious Stuffed Shells with Tomato Cream Sauce.  Holy pregnant lady happiness!  They are a slight adaptation to my traditional Stuffed Shells recipe and I have to say this adaptation is freaking amazing.  I licked my plate clean…this sauce, you guys, THIS SAUCE is amazing.  It is perfect with the shells and cheese but would be outstanding on any type of pasta you have in your pantry.  

So, let's get to it.

 Start with finely chopping an onion

 Pour a little canola or vegetable oil in a large skillet

 Add in the onion and sauté until they are translucent

 Like so

 Add in a pound of ground turkey.  You can use ground beef if you would like but I really like ground turkey in these.

Be sure to season with plenty of salt and pepper.  Cook the meat until it is no longer pink.  Set aside for now.  

 While the meat cooks, your can start on the sauce.  Add a little butter to a medium sauce pan

 Finely mince some garlic, add that to the pan as well.

 Let it cook for just a few minutes.  Be careful this can burn quickly.

 Once the garlic has had a chance to cook, pour in the heavy cream.

 Add in grated parmesan cheese.

Give it a quick stir

 Add your noodles to the boiling water and cook according to the directions on the box.  You want them al dente since you will be putting the whole kit and caboodle in the oven.  (Did I really just say that?)

 Season the sauce with pepper

 And a pinch of salt

 Then you add in your favorite jarred marinara sauce.  For real. Give it a stir and bring it to a quick simmer…not a boil but simmer while the noodles cook.

 Meanwhile, prepare the filling.  You will need ricotta

 Shredded mozzarella cheese

 Pour in the ground turkey/beef, it is okay if it is still pretty hot, it will just help melt the cheese

 Sprinkle in a teaspoon of Italian seasoning

 And grated parmesan cheese.  I'm sure shredded would be fine as well.

 Give it a really good stir so it is completely combined

 Drain the pasta and drizzle with a little olive or canola oil so they do not stick.

 Prepare your baking dish by spraying the heck out of it with cooking spray and quite a few ladles of the luscious sauce.

 Stuff the shells.  I found the easiest way to do this is by using a large tablespoon and literally stuffing them.  The filling acts almost like glue and is easily molded into the shells.

 Arrange them in a baking dish.  As you can see there is quite a bit of sauce in the bottom of the pan, enough to go about 1/2 way up the sides of the shells.

 Sprinkle with additional mozzarella cheese.  Into the oven it goes

 Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted.  Do you see why I told you to spray the heck out of the baking dish!?  I promise it was super easy to clean up because I did it.

 I garnished with a bit of dried parsley

 Look at how pretty these are.

 If you can believe it, they taste even better than they look!

Stuffed Shells with Tomato Cream Sauce 
(Makes about 24 stuffed shells.  We eat two for dinner with a nice salad)

1 onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil, separated
1 pound ground turkey or ground beef
1 tablespoon butter
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, separated
Salt and pepper for seasoning
2 jars of your favorite marinara sauce
24 medium shelled pasta
15 oz ricotta cheese (I used fat free)
3 cups mozzarella cheese, separated
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Dried parsley, optional for garnish

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.

Place a large skillet on medium high heat.  Drizzle in the oil and add the onion.  Saute until translucent.

Once the onion is cooked, add in the ground turkey/beef.  Season with salt and pepper, cook until no longer pink.  Set aside once cooked.

Add the butter to a medium sauce pan on medium heat.  Once butter is melted, add in the garlic.  Cook for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant but not browned.  Be careful, this can burn easily.  Once the garlic is cooked, add in the heavy cream and 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bring to a bubble but do not boil.  Once bubbling, pour in the marinara sauce.  Stir and bring to a simmer, again don't boil it.

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.  You want it to be al dente since you will be baking it all later.

While the pasta cooks, combine the ricotta, 2 cups of mozzarella, ground turkey/beef, italian seasoning and 1/2 cup of the grated parmesan cheese in a large bowl.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain and drizzle with 1/2 tablespoon of olive/canola oil so the pasta does not stick.  Using a large tablespoon, stuff the shells with the filling.

To prepare the baking dish, spray liberally with cooking spray.  Ladle in the pasta sauce so there is a good amount at the bottom of the dish.  Place as may stuffed shells in the dish as you can fit.  Top with the last cup of mozzarella cheese.

Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted.  To serve, garnish with dried parsley.

Enjoy!

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz


**A few notes:

1. This reheats beautifully for left overs
2. This makes a TON.  I usually make this recipe then freeze half of it, ready to go in the oven.  I prepare it in one of those tin foil baking dishes, cover with Press and Seal and then tin foil.  When I'mr ready to make it, I try to remember to take it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge the day before.  Then I bake it at 350 for about 45 minutes or so with the tin foil covering it, REMOVE the Press and Seal.  If I forget to defrost it, I put it in a 350 degree oven with the tin foil (no Press and Seal) for about an hour or so to ensure they are fully cooked through.
3.  The sauce reheats well so if you have additional sauce, save it, freeze it and use it for a different recipe!

Sausage and Mushroom Manicotti

How have I left you in the dark for SO long about this recipe!?  I was just going through my pictures on my camera and noticed that I hadn't posted this! Oh my, I have been holding out on you, this recipe is out of this WORLD!  

I am a huge fan of pasta and this recipe satisfied every craving I could ever have.  Cheesy, gooey, creamy, slightly spicy and oh so delicious.  Let's just get to it! 

Starr with a little drizzle of olive oil in a large skillet

Dice an onion on a melted cutting board.  Whatever, it still works

Pop it in the pan

While the onions saute, dice up a few mushrooms.

Once your onions start to look like this...kinda translucent and getting a little brown because I was distracted..

Add in your sausage.  To make this as "healthy" as I could (wait till you see the remainder of this recipe...) I used turkey sausage. You can use whatever kind of sausage you would like. Season it with a little salt and pepper.  Continue on medium high heat

While the meat cooks, boil a big pot o' water and add a good amount of salt to it once it is boiling.  Drop the manicotti noodles in one at a time.  Once they are all in, give it a good stir so they don't stick

Like magic your sausage will be cooked!

Then add in those mushrooms

And two cloves of garlic.  Give it a toss and let it cook for about 2 minutes..then take it off the heat

Keep an eye on those noodles. Cook them just a minute shy of the cooking instructions on the box.  Drain them and drizzle with a bit of olive oil so they don't stick.

Take the sausage mixture and add it to a large bowl

Add some ricotta cheese

Parmesan cheese

Italian blend shredded cheese

And some Italian or pizza seasoning.  I think they are pretty much the same.  I used pizza seasoning.

Give it a good stir to combine

Then fill a zip top bag with the filling.  Snip the corner off one end and use it to fill the manicotti.  I filled each noodle from one end, then flipped it over and filled from the other end.  This stuff is thick so it was easier that way

Perfectly filled manicotti.  Set them aside while you work on the sauce

This is just a super simple (I did not say healthy) Alfredo sauce.  Start by melting a stick of butter

And chopping two cloves of garlic on that same crappy cutting board

Add the garlic to the butter

And let it cook for about 2-3 minutes on medium heat...you don't want to burn it so be careful.  By now, your house will smell AMAZING.

Add in a pint of heavy cream.  Note the broken handle on the measuring cup.  Apparently all of our nice cooking tools were in the dishwasher.

INSERT PICTURE THAT DOES NOT EXIST: Adding grated parmesan cheese. oops.  : )

Give it a stir to combine and let it bubble for a minute or two

Season with plenty of black pepper

And salt.  Give it a stir and taste.  Add more pepper or salt if needed.

To assemble, pour a little bit of the sauce on the bottom of your dish.

Add the manicotti

Drizzle more sauce over the top

Sprinkle with additional cheese (yikes my cuticles!)

Into the oven she goes.

This recipe makes a TON so I made that little red dish, a 8x8 pan and a 9x13 pan!  I cooked the little dish and 8x8 dish right away and we had great left overs.

As for the 9x13, I made it in a aluminum pan, wrapped it in Press and Seal

And tinfoil so I could freeze it for later.  Probably the best idea I have had in a while...

But, this is what it looks like when it comes out of the oven

Heaven I tell you, HEAVEN.

Pasta heaven that is!

This would be a perfect dish for entertaining.  It is easy enough but looks very fancy and is absolutely decadent.  Serve it with a crisp salad with Italian dressing and you have the perfect meal.

Sausage and Mushroom Manicotti 

For the filling/noodles:
2 tablespoons of olive oil (divided)
1 large onion, diced
1 pound sausage (I used turkey sausage)
1 cup fresh mushrooms, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound uncooked manicotti noodles
1 tablespoon sea salt
15 oz ricotta cheese
2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese
1 teaspoon pizza or Italian seasoning

For the sauce/topping: 
1 stick of butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pint heavy cream
1 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon black pepper (more or less to your taste)
1/8 teaspoon salt (more or less to your taste)
2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese
Dried parsley, for garnish (optional)

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.

Place a large skillet on medium high heat.  Drizzle in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add the onion.  Sauté for about 3 minutes or so or until it starts to become translucent.  Add in the sausage and cook until no longer pink.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Once boiling, add the sea salt and one noodle at a time.  Cook according to the directions on the box but just 1 minute shy of what they say. You don't want to overcook the noodles since they are going in the oven.  Once the noodles are fully cooked, drain them and drizzle with the other tablespoon of oil...give or take, don't use it all if you don't need to.  You just want to be sure the noodles don't stick together.

Back to the sausage, after it is no longer pink, add the garlic and mushrooms.  Cook for another 2 minutes.

Remove the meat mixture from the pan and add into a large bowl.  To the meat, add the ricotta, parmesan, Italian cheese blend and pizza/Italian seasoning.  Give it a good mix to combine.  Let this sit for about 5 minutes to cool.

Once cool enough to handle, take the mixture and add it to a large zip top bag.  Cut one corner off the bag and use it to fill the manicotti noodles.  I did one end at a time, it seemed easier that way.  Set all of the filled noodles aside for now.

To make the sauce, add the butter to a small skillet on medium heat.  Once the butter is melted, add the garlic and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.  Be careful as you don't want to burn it.  Once the garlic is cooked, add the heavy cream, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.  Give it a good stir and let it bubble for about 3 minutes or so while you stir it.

To assemble:

Take a small amount of the sauce and drizzle it in the pan (that you have sprayed with cooking spray) and spread it around a bit.  Place the noodles in your pan and drizzle more sauce over the top.  Sprinkle with the Italian blend cheese and dried parsley.  **FREEZER OPTION BELOW**

Place in the oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly and the cheese has melted.

Enjoy!!!!

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz

**If you don't want to make all of it at once, you can make it as a freezer meal.  Note the sauce does separate a bit but is still just as tasty.  I cover it with Press and Seal and tin foil, label it and pop it in the freezer.  The morning I would like to enjoy it, I take it and put it in the fridge for the day.  When I get home from work I preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake it for 40-50 minutes or until its bubbly and when I test one of the noodles in the middle it is hot.**