New Recipes...

Before I forget, below are the two new recipes I tried.  I put what I would try next time at the bottom of each recipe.  Let me know if you think of other yummy ways to try these!  

Stuffed Pasta Shells

20 jumbo pasta shells - about half a 12oz box

1 24oz jar marinara sauce

2 15oz container ricotta cheese

2 cups baby spinach, chopped

1/2 cup grated Parmesan - 2 oz

Salt and Pepper

1 cup grated mozzarella

Set an oven rack to the highest position and heat oven to 400F.   Cook the pasta according to package directions; drain and run under cold water until cool. 

Spread the marinara sauce in the bottom of a large broilerproof baking dish.

In a bowl, combine the ricotta, spinach, Parmesan, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  Spoon the mixture into the shells and place them on top of the sauce.  Sprinkle with the mozzarella and bake until the shells are heated through, 10 to 12 minutes.

Increase heat to broil.  Broil the shells until the cheese begins to brown, 2 to 5 minutes.

And that's it!  Easy!  Next time I'm thinking of adding some chopped bacon, mushrooms (mmm...I could go for some garlic and butter pan fried mushrooms right now!), or olives.  What do you think?  It was a great base to work off of, and a great vegetarian dish.  I think the bacon would kick it up a notch. 

Salami and Spinach Stromboli

One refrigerated package of pizza dough (or equivalent amount of homemade - I just don't do homemade dough)

1/4 pound sliced salami

4 cups fresh spinach

1/2 pound thinly sliced provolone cheese

Roll out the dough into a 12-by-15 inch rectangle.  Top with the salami, spinach and provolone.  Working from a short end, roll up the dough.  Place seam side down on an oiled baking sheet; brush with olive oil.  Bake at 425F until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. 

Mine only took 22 minutes and I had to pull it out so it wouldn't burn.  But it was still cooked through and so yummy!  Steven loved it.  I was surprised because it was soooo easy!  In the future, I would probably try pepperoni or shredded chicken.  And maybe mushrooms?  I love me some mushrooms!  It was so good.  I heated up some extra marinara I had for dipping sauce.  We almost finished the entire thing just the two of us!  I bet you could put any combination of pizza toppings in it and it would taste delicious.  Yum! 

Enjoy!