Vegetarian Stuffed Pasta Shells

This is not my own recipe.  It's from my friend Kristina, who says it's from the back of the box of pasta shells.  So I bought the pasta shells, followed the recipe (more or less), and used some of my friends suggestions as well.  Hope it turns out just as good as hers!

VEGETARIAN STUFFED PASTA SHELLS
1 box large pasta shells
1 onion, diced
1 tbsp. Tomato & Parmesan Cheese Ball Mix
2 big handfuls of baby spinach, chopped
500 g. cottage cheese
1 egg
1/3 c. grated cheese (it called for Parmesan, but I used Pecorino Romano because that's what was in the fridge.  Mozzarella would probably work too.)
1 jar pasta sauce (I used Tomato Basil flavour.)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add salt and some oil.  Cook the pasta shells for 10 minutes, stirring often to make sure they don't stick to the bottom.  While they are cooking, sauté the onions in some butter and olive oil until they are soft.  Add the seasoning (you can use whatever herbs you like - I chose the Epicure cheeseball mix because it's awesome in Italian-inspired dishes.)  Add spinach and let it wilt slightly, then remove from heat and let it cool a bit.  Add cottage cheese, egg, and grated cheese.  Drain pasta and run cold water over it so you can handle the shells easily.  Pour half the pasta sauce into a 9x13" baking dish, fill the shells with the spinach mixture, and lay them in the baking dish.  Cover with the remaining pasta sauce and cover with tinfoil. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.

Quinoa Recipes

Here are two recipes I found on Pinterest that use quinoa as a main ingredient.

QUINOA CHOCOLATE CHERRY BALLS (doubled and slightly modified from this recipe)

3/4 c. quinoa, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 c. water

1/4 c. almonds, crushed

6 tbsp. Cherries & Berries

1/4 c. chocolate chips

2 tbsp. maple syrup

2 tbsp. peanut butter

Bring quinoa and water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover for 20 minutes or until all the water has evaporated.  Spread on a cookie sheet to cool it off to room temperature.  Combine remaining ingredients and incorporate the cooled quinoa.  Use a mini portion scoop and press the quinoa mixture in tightly.  Drop balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 375 F for 20-25 minutes. 

These were pretty good.  I likely wouldn't make them again, but it was a good way to trick the kids into eating quinoa.

QUINOA SALAD WITH PEAR & BLACKBERRIES (halved and slightly modified from this recipe)

1/2 c. quinoa, rinsed and drained

1 c. water

2 c. baby spinach

1 pear, thinly sliced

1/4 c. blackberries

1/4 c. chickpeas, rinsed

1 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

1 tbsp. almond slices

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 1/2 tbsp. balsamic vinaigrette

1 tbsp. maple syrup

juice from 1/2 a lemon

Bring quinoa to a boil and then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and cool to room temperature.  Toss together spinach, pear, chickpeas, parsley, and almond slices.  Whisk together dressing ingredients.  When quinoa is cooled, toss it in with the salad ingredients and coat with the dressing.

Eggs Benedict in a Muffin Tin

I love making eggs this way when you want to feed a group of people. You can use a piece of shaved ham to make a little cup or take a slice of bacon and make a ring around each hole in a muffin tin. (Spray lightly with Pam beforehand). Crack an egg into each one and then pop the tray into the oven at 350 F for about 30 minutes. Serve on a slice of bread (I used french bread, but you can use croissants, toast, or traditional English muffins). Top with hollandaise sauce and serve.

Hawaiian Kalua Pork with Apple Coleslaw

I found this on Pinterest and tried it a couple weeks ago.  It is supposed to taste like the slow-roasted pig that they serve at luaus in Hawaii.  There are lots of recipes online - one of them used bacon to get the smokey flavour, but most of them called for liquid smoke so I went and bought a bottle.  I discovered that the smokey campfire smell kind of gets on my nerves after a few hours -- I put this in the crockpot before bed so that it would be ready for supper the next day, and in the middle of the night my eyes and throat felt like I'd been sitting around a campfire all night.  I was worried the whole house would stink of smoke, but it seemed to dissipate (or I just got used to it).

KALUA PORK
3 lb. pork shoulder roast
1 tbsp. liquid smoke (1-2 tsp. might be enough)
1 tbsp. coarse sea salt (Hawaiian sea salt if you have it - I couldn't find any at the store so I used regular sea salt - don't grind it.)

Remove any fat from the roast.  Rub with sea salt.  (You could also stuff some garlic cloves into it if you like.)  Place in a slow cooker and add liquid smoke.  Cook on low for 16 hours.  Remove from slow cooker (carefully, because it will all fall apart on you!)  Shred with two forks.  I wanted there to be a little bit of crispiness to the meat, so I scooped half of it into an oven-safe frying pan and put it under the broiler for about 10-15 minutes.  (I saved the other half for supper the next night.)  We ate this with rice, grilled pineapple rings, and apple coleslaw.  Freshly squeezed lime juice would be a nice garnish as well.

APPLE COLESLAW (from Canadian Living)
2 apples, thinly sliced (like matchsticks)
4 c. cabbage, shredded
1 c. carrots, shredded
2 green onions, sliced
1/4 c. cider vinegar
2 tbsp. oil
2 tbsp. water
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. Lemon Dilly dip mix
salt & pepper

Toss first four ingredients together.  Whisk remaining ingredients together and pour over salad.  Let it sit for 15 minutes before serving.

This is likely the closest we'll ever get to Hawaii!

This was so tender and delicious - the kids loved it!  Now that I have a bottle of liquid smoke, I'm sure I'll make this recipe more often (although I might wait until it's warmer out so I can leave the windows open while it cooks!)

Almond Blueberry Crème Brûlée

Had a big family supper tonight, with a double batch of Cajun Chicken Alfredo (made with chicken & shrimp this time) and some decadent crème brûlée for dessert.  I used the same recipe I always use (first posted here, made with Cadbury Creme Eggs) but this time I doubled it and changed the flavour profile a bit.  Here's the double batch recipe, which made about 1 dozen small (1/2 c.) rammekins.

ALMOND BLUEBERRY CRÈME BRÛLÉE
10 egg yolks
3/4 c. sugar
4 c. whipping cream
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract
1-2 tsp. frozen blueberries in each rammekin
extra sugar

Whisk egg yolks and sugar, then add whipping cream and extracts.  Put blueberries into each rammekin, and pour 1/2 c. of the custard mixture into each rammekin.  Place in baking dishes that are partially filled with water and bake at 325 F for 45 minutes.  When you remove them from the oven, they should be jiggly but the tops should be set.  Refrigerate (you can make these the day before) and bring to room temperature before you are ready to serve them.  Pour 1 tbsp. sugar over each one, and place on the top rack under the broiler for a few minutes, until the sugar melts and turns golden brown.  Remove from the oven and let them cool until the sugar solidifies.

Tap tap tap...

Oooooh, that's good!

Crème brûlée is so easy to make, and it's great for entertaining because you can make it the day before and then just pop them under the broiler (or be dramatic and torch them at the table!) right before serving.  You can try all sorts of different flavours... I have added mini Cadbury Creme Eggs, raspberries, gingerbread spices, and I have lots of other flavour ideas I can't wait to try.  (Although I must admit, almond and blueberry is definitely my favourite!)  The only complicated part about making this dessert is figuring out how to fit all the rammekins into baking dishes... inevitably I end up with one or two leftover so it ends up taking a long time to cook them all, but it's worth it when your guests crack into their little pots of custardy goodness!

Kathy's Meatloaf

I made this meatloaf from scratch a couple weeks ago and it was so good.  Unfortunately I didn't take exact measurements, but I tried to recreate it tonight.  Here is a rough idea of what I put in it:

KATHY'S MEATLOAF
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
2 eggs
1 onion, diced (I forgot this the second time, darn it!)
1/2 sleeve of soda crackers (or use about 1 c. oatmeal or bread crumbs)
salt & pepper
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. BBQ seasoning
2 tbsp. Meatloaf seasoning or Italian seasoning
1 tsp. onion powder (optional)
1 tsp. garlic powder (optional)
1/4 c. chili sauce (I had some homemade chili sauce that my friend Jackie gave me - yum!)
1/4 c. ketchup
2 tbsp. dijon mustard
3-4 tbsp. brown sugar (maybe more... I used a couple handfuls)

Mix everything together and press into a greased loaf pan.  Poke holes throughout the loaf, and top with a mixture of ketchup and brown sugar (you can add some more BBQ seasoning if you like).   Bake at 350 F for 1 hour. Let rest for 15 minutes before cutting into it.

Mmmm!  This meatloaf is awesome... I love the brown sugar & ketchup sauce on top.  We served it up with good old mashed potatoes and peas... the perfect comfort food!

Spicy Mac & Cheese

Here is the third pasta recipe I tried this week.  It's Sunny Anderson's recipe for Spicy Mac & Cheese.  I didn't have any Colby cheese so I just used twice as much Monterrey Jack.  I also left out the croutons at the end, but otherwise I followed her recipe exactly and it was awesome.  The kids found it a tad spicy, but not too bad.  I found it just right, but next time I think I would try to make a half-batch of sauce with less cayenne pepper and bake individual mac & cheeses for the kids in rammekins.