What's for Dinner Wednesday~

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend with their family.  We enjoyed having these two at home with us...

They make us more proud of them everyday!  Our oldest is pursuing a teaching position, and has been accepted into two prestigious programs here in the Atlanta area where she can earn her degree while teaching (if you recall, she graduated in 2012, EARLY, with a degree in Communications/PR and a minor in Marketing and is still pursuing her Masters in Health Administration).  Her true passion lies with children and coaching cheerleading.  Our youngest will soon finish up her first year as a Speech Path/Audiology and Early Childhood Development major with hopes of providing intervention for babies in the NICU or in the field of Austism.  Where did the year go???

It was back to reality this afternoon, as one flew back to the University this morning and the other is back hard at work.

Since dad has been doing the majority of the cooking lately (his choice), I decided to pull out an old dish he and I both loved, but the girls could not have (they are both lactose intolerant).

Cheese Stuffed Shells!

Ingredients:

12 oz Muellers Jumbo Shells

2 eggs

2 containers (15oz) each Ricotta cheese

2 Cups (8oz) shredded Mozzarella cheese

1-1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1/2 Cup chopped fresh parsley or 2 TBS dried parsley

1 TBS dried basil

1 tsp salt

3 Cups spaghetti sauce (we use our own homemade, recipe below)

Cooking Instructions:

Cook Jumbo Shells for 15 minutes

Drain, cover and set aside

In a medium bowl beat eggs lightly; stir in Ricotta, Mozzarella, 3/4 cup Parmesan, parsley, basil and salt.

Spoon about one tablespoon of cheese mixture into each shell.

Arrange filled shells in a 13X9-inch baking dish; top with spaghetti sauce

Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan (I like to add a bit of Mozzarella too)

Bake in 350* oven 25-30 minutes or until heated through.

Spaghetti Sauce (Aunt Ann):

Ingredients

1 28oz can Crushed Tomatoes (we prefer organic with basil added)

basil (prefer fresh, but dried works too)

oregano (prefer fresh, but again dried is fine)

crushed red pepper (dried)

minced garlic

parsley (you know the drill, fresh is best, but use what you have!)

olive oil

grated parmesan cheese

In a saucepan, drizzle bottom with olive oil.  Add minced garlic (about a TBS, give or take to your taste), sprinkle in a bit of basil, oregano and crushed red pepper.  Saute for about a minute to infuse the oil with the herbs flavor.  Add crushed tomatoes, and about a 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese.  Stir.  Simmer on low for about 20-25 minutes to infuse the flavors.

This is our go to sauce, easy and fresh!

Pop open a good bottle of wine and enjoy!