I'm so happy you have found my sweet corner of the internet. Let's have some fun! As a busy Mom of 3, I'm here to help you find the simplicity in cooking. I've already developed easy dinners, side dishes, breakfasts and desserts for you so there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Use my recipes to feed your family!

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Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Stuffed Shells...and thanks to my readers!

It's amazing that you can dream up this idea of a little food blog and pretty soon people from all over the country are following it. Crazy, huh?

Thanks for all the responses yesterday telling me "where you are from". If you didn't respond yesterday, do today, as I'd love to see where your computer sits. Gosh, we had everything from California, Arizona, South Carolina, Virginia, Alaska, and even Canada. And that is only to name a few! You know, it's funny that probably half of my reader base is in the state I live in - Iowa, but no one responded with that state! You stinkers.

Thanks for reading my blog and stay tuned, I only have more delicious recipes to come:)

So...this recipe below is one of our favorites. Not only because it is GOOD, but because it makes two servings. Yep, one for that night and another one I throw in the freezer for next time. I love that feeling, don't you? When you have one of those days, where dinner is the last thing on your mind, but then you suddenly remember....fresh, frozen meal in freezer where the prep is simply setting on the counter to thaw? Love it.

Stuffed Shells
1 box jumbo pasta shells
1 lb. lean ground beef or turkey
1 can diced tomatoes with garlic, basil and oregano
1 pint part skim ricotta cheese
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
1 t. garlic salt
1 t. parsley
1 jar spaghetti sauce, or homemade
1 box thawed, drained spinach (optional)
slices of mozzarella cheese



Boil shells until al dente. Rinse and let cool in strainer. Meanwhile, spray two 8x8 baking dishes with non-stick spray. Pour just enough spaghetti sauce in bottom of pans to cover. Cook hamburger/turkey and drain. Mix meat with ricotta cheese, tomatoes, spinach, parmesan cheese, garlic salt and parsley. Take spoonfuls of meat mixture and stuff shells. Place upright in pan. One box of pasta should fill both pans. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over shells. Top with sliced mozzarella cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 20 min. Turn oven to broil the last few minutes to get cheese browned and bubbly.


*For freezer dish, do not cover shells with cheese, wait to do that the night you eat it. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and then foil. Label, date and freeze!

In other news...

Here are a couple of giveaways going on:
  1. Jenn over at Slim Shoppin' is giving away a new sugar substitute, Nevella.
  2. Mara over at What's for Dinner? is giving away SkinMD Natural Shielding Lotion.
  3. Kristen over at Change of Pace is giving away a box of goodies from Newman's Own Organics.

Would you like to comment?

  1. Pretty shells! I like that!
    And isn't it crazy that the internet is wide open to everyone. It is a way to connect common interests from anywhere in the world. I love it!

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  2. dannng those look fantastic! they remind me of the dinner my best friend's mom would make whenever i ate at their house. SO good!

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  3. Wow those turned out beautifully! I'll have to figure out a way to make them whey free!

    Do you have google analytics set up for your site? You can see where ea. visitor is from on a map, how many, how they got to your site, etc. It's pretty cool!

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  4. Christina...I don't have that yet, but many have suggested it since yesterday's post. So I'm going to look into it!

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  5. I've never made stuffed shells before, but these look great! I'm going to have to try this recipe out.

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  6. lovely shells! these look delicious! can't go wrong with cheese and carbs! ;)

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  7. those look fantastic - tonight was a pasta night for us too. I'll have to try stuffed shells sometime. nice photos

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  8. I just found your blog! I was following links on other blogs and saw that you are form Iowa City, I just had to stop by! :) I currently live in Iowa City, but I spend about 3 months each year in Switzerland (Zurich), where I am originally from.

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  9. That you so much girl! :) And your stuffed shells look so tasty!!!

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  10. I love stuffed shells and these look delicious!

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  11. That you so much girl! :) And your stuffed shells look so tasty!!!

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  12. lovely shells! these look delicious! can't go wrong with cheese and carbs! ;)

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