Turkey & Artichoke Stuffed Shells with Arrabbiata Sauce

Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Shells

approx 24 jumbo pasta shells

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ large yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 pound ground turkey

½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus ½ teaspoon

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus ¼ teaspoon

1 (8 to 10-ounce) package frozen artichokes, thawed and coarsely chopped (canned artichokes work okay too, just make sure they are brined and not marinated)

1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese

¾ cup grated Parmesan

2 eggs, lightly beaten

¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves (don't use dry basil, use fresh. It makes a difference)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

5 cups Arrabbiata Sauce, recipe follows

1 ½ cups grated mozzarella (about 5 ounces)

Arrabbiata Sauce

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 ounces sliced pancetta, coarsely chopped (bacon works okay too)

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

2 garlic cloves, minced

5 cups jarred or fresh marinara sauce

Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Shells

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and partially cook until tender but still very firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain pasta. Meanwhile, in a large heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and the garlic and cook until the onions are soft and starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the ground turkey, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is slightly golden and cooked through. Add the artichoke hearts and stir to combine. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl combine the cooled turkey mixture with the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, basil, parsley, and the remaining salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

To stuff the shells, cover the bottom of a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking dish with 1 cup of Arrabbiata sauce. Take a shell in the palm of your hand and stuff it with a large spoonful of turkey mixture, about 2 tablespoons. Place the stuffed shell in the baking dish. Continue filling the shells until the baking dish is full, about 24 shells. Drizzle the remaining Arrabbiata Sauce over the shells, top with the grated mozzarella. If freezing, cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 1 day and up to 1 month.

To bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake until the shells are warmed through and the cheese is beginning to brown, about 60 minutes (20 minutes if shells are unfrozen.)

Arrabbiata Sauce

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the Pancetta and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes. if you're using bacon, skip the olive oil and drain most of the fat first. Then add some olive oil. Add the garlic and saute until tender, about 1 minute. Add the marinara sauce and red pepper flakes and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and let cool until ready to use.

Grilled Scallops with Angel Hair Pasta

Ingredients:

-1lb angel hair pasta

-1lb bay scallops (or 16 sea scallops)

-6 cloves garlic, minced

-1/2 cp flat leaf parsley, chopped

-1/4 cp extra virgin olive oil

-1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

-1/2 dry white wine

-zest & juice of 1 lemon

-5 tbsp cold unsealed butter

-salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

-cook pasta according to box to al dente (when done, reserve a cup of starchy water before draining)

-in a bowl, combine the garlic, salt & pepper and olive oil

-in another bowl, toss scallops in half of the oil mixture (above), toss to coat then grill (in a pan) 2-3 minutes until firm and opaque

-in large skillet, cook other half of the oil mixture with the pepper flakes until the garlic browns.

-add wine, cook for 2 minutes

-add lemon zest & juice, cook 2 minutes

-add butter, cook until melted

-add scallops and drained pasta, combine together, add salt & pepper to taste (add starchy water if needed)

Serve Hot

This dish is quite popular in our house. We've used it for dinner guests as well and it always goes over well (except with very picky eaters). It is referred to simply as "the pasta" and that says a lot considering I make quite a few pasta dishes :)

Hope you try and hope you like.

(Crockpot) Creamy Ranch Chicken

In an effort to save $$$ this week, we did an entire menu with boneless, skinless chicken breast, which can get pretty boring pretty quickly so this was very easy and came out pretty tasty. DH actually said: "delicious"

3-4 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dessing seasoning

Cook on high 5-6 hours (closer to 5)

I served with white rice and broccoli, but you can use any sides.

(Crockpot) Chicken & Dumplings

Slow-Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

adapted from Bubble Crumb

Ingredients:

1lb of Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (3-5)

2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter

2 cans (10.5oz) Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

1 can (14oz) Chicken Broth

1 medium White Onion, diced

4 Large Flaky Refrigerator Biscuits

Place chicken in crock pot and top with butter. Add cream of chicken soup, chicken broth and diced onions. Cook on High for 4-6 hours.

Remove chicken from crock pot and use a fork to shred. Return chicken to the crock pot. Cut each uncooked biscuit into 9 pieces and stir into the chicken mixture. Continue to cook on High for 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Makes about 6-8 servings.

--I got this from (where else???) Pinterest. DH surprisingly liked it. He's no big on soup as a meal. He's more of a protein, vegetable, starch guy (sometimes just the protein and starch). I did like the way it came out, it was super easy, but a little too onion-y for me. So next time I'm either going to use less onion or only use onion powder. I also cooked it on low for 10 hours (from when I went to work to when DH got home).

Stuffed French Toast Strata with Apple Cider Syrup

My stepmom found this recipe many years ago.  It's super easy to make and sooo yummy (works great for a dessert too).   It's now a tradition to make it every year for Christmas morning.  Yum!

Stuffed French Toast Strata

1 1-pound loaf unsliced French bread

1 8 oz. cream cheese, cubed

8 eggs

2½ c. milk, light cream or half & half

6 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted

¼ c. maple syrup

• Cut French bread loaf into cubes. (You should have about 12 cups of bread cubes.)
• Grease a 13x9x2 inch baking dish.
• To assemble, in the prepared baking dish place half of the bread cubes.  Top with cream cheese cubes, and then with the remaining bread cubes.
• In a blender container or a mixing bowl with a rotary beater, mix together the eggs, milk, melted butter or margarine, and maple syrup until well combined.
• Pour egg mixture evenly over bread and cheese cubes.  Using a spatula, slightly press layers down to moisten.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours.
• Remove plastic wrap from baking dish.  Bake in 325° oven for 35-40 minutes or till the center appears set and the edges are lightly golden.  Let stand about 10 minutes before serving.  Serve with Apple Cider Syrup.

Apple Cider Syrup

½ c. sugar

4 tsp cornstarch

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 c apple cider or apple juice

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp butter or margarine

• In a small saucepan stir together the sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon.  Then stir in the apple cider/juice and lemon juice.
• Cook and stir the mixture of medium heat till mixture is thickened and bubbly. 
• Then cook and stir for 2 minutes more.
• Remove saucepan from heat and stir in the butter or margarine till melted.

Shells with Crispy Pancetta & Spinach

*This is a Giada recipe, hope you ladies like...

Shells:
1 (12 oz) package of jumbo shell pasta
2 tblsp olive oil
1/2 lb thick-cut pancetta cut into 3/4 in cubes
2 boxes frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 (15 oz) container whole milk ricotta
1 cp grated asiago cheese ((((I used parmesan))))
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg

Sauce:
1 tblsp butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cp cream
2 cps grated asiago cheese, plus 1/4 cp ((((again, used parmesan)))
1/4 cp chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

DIRECTIONS

preheat oven to 375

shells: bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat, add pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, about 8-10 minutes. Drain pasta.
Warm olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat, add pancetta and cook until lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Remove pancetta with a slotted spoon and transfer to a large bowl. Add (to the bowl) the spinach, ricotta, asiago, pepper and nutmeg. Stir to combine. Stuff the shells with about 2 tblsp of the spinach mixture each and place in a large buttered baking dish.

sauce: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to very low and add the 2 cps asiago, parsley and pepper. Stir until the cheese is dissolved. Pour over the shells, top with remaining asiago. Bake until golden on top, about 25 minutes. Serve immediately.

Dakota Smashed Pea and Barley Soup

This is from the CPK cookbook and apparently, Cari thinks it's amazing. I'll have to give it a try... which should be interesting since I don't like peas. :-)

Ingredients:

1 pound dried split peas, sorted and rinsed
1/2 cup Pearl Barley
2 quarts water
2 bay leaves
1 tsp salt
1 tbls soy sauce
1 tbls chopped fresh thyme (or 1/2 tbls dried)
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp rubbed dried sage
Large pinch of ground cumin
1.5 cups diced carrots
2/3 cup minced onion
1/3 cup diced celery
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallion greens (green onions, just the green parts not the white parts)

In a large pot or saucepan, combine the first 10 ingredients. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a bare simmer. Cover and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the carrots, celery, and onions. Simmer until veggies are tender, 20-30 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Ladle into bowls and garnish with scallion greens...enjoy!