Stuffed Shells

A couple of nights ago I made this stuffed shells recipe and had to roll myself away from the table.  It was simply delicious!  Every bite was flavorful, stuffed with prosciutto, garlic, onions, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, drizzled with red wine vinegar.  I had to remind myself of all the possible weight gain to order to keep from heaping a third serving onto my plate.  Good thing I made a salad to offset the pasta and bread...uhhh, can't forget the bread.  Four shells, two pieces of bread and two fist full portions of salad later, I felt sick.  For the first time since putting on my chef's hat, I was sick of eating.  I guess it didn't help that I also had a scoop of vanilla ice cream covered in a fresh batch of homemade berry sauce for dessert.  Put a fork in me.  I was done!  

This recipe was easy to prepare and apparently, just as easy to consume.  I boiled my pasta for about ten minutes, drained, then set aside to cool.  Meanwhile, over medium heat, I cooked the prosciutto, garlic, and onions until all was soft and caramelized in olive oil.  Smelled so good.  Just before I was about to remove it from the heat, I poured in the red wine vinegar.  Since that needed to sit for a minute to cool, I poured marinara sauce into the bottom of my baking dish for extra flavor.   Now that my mix has cooled, it was ready to welcome the ricotta and mozzarella cheeses.   Once combined, I filled the shells with a generous portion, laid it in the marinara sauce, dotted each one with a pinch of butter, covered and let cook for 40 minutes for 375 degrees.  Yum!  When the 40 minutes were done, I uncovered, raised the temperature to 450 degrees, then let the shells get golden and bubbly for another 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, since I had tons of mix and shells left, I made another batch and placed in the freezer for another eating occasion.  

I served the shells with extra marinara sauce, garnished with parmesan cheese, garlic bread and a side salad.  It was so good, Malik had the shells for breakfast and dinner the next day.  Even today he devoured the last of it and left just one for Arron.  To get the full effect of the episode, of course I had to make the berry sauce to top my vanilla ice cream.  That sent me over the cliff.  I purchased a bag of frozen berry mix,  tossed in a saucepan over medium heat, and cook the berries until they formed a sauce-like consistency.  I mixed in some sugar, lemon juice, along with lemon zest.  Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum!

Which I could say the same for the batch of sugar cookies Malik and I baked the other day.  It was a mess.  It's hard to bake with a child only interested in eating the cookie dough.  Half way through the process, he was bored and hungry.  We forgot to add ingredients a few times and had to go back and read the directions.  In many cases, I just mixed in the missing ingredients and kept going.  No wonder the kids at his school were using them for frisbees.  I was told that even when one hit the floor, it didn't break.  Okay, so they were crunchy, but they weren't that bad.  Kids could be so cruel.

To enjoy the stuffed shells for yourself, and pack on a few pounds like I did, click (or copy and paste) the links below.  Don't forget the berry sauce and the sugar cookies.  What would the holidays be like if we didn't gain extra weight?  Ha!

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/stuffed-shells-recipe

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/berry-sauce-mad-hungry

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/old-fashioned-sugar-cookies backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/sugar-cookie-recipes#slide_1