Shrimp Prima Vera

We had a birthday in this house, recently, and my Shrimp Prima Vera was requested.  Hubby is not a fan...but it was not his birthday.  So, I got out my big skillet, the olive oil and garlic, and got started!  Again, this is something I've made for a long time and do not have a recipe to follow, so I'll just go through the steps.  

1.  Sautée a sliced (I use sweet Peru) onion and two cloves of minced garlic in a couple of TBSP of good olive oil in a large skillet.

2.  Slice two or three different colored bell peppers and white mushrooms.

3.  Add to the skillet, once the onions are transparent.  (Be careful not to get your garlic too brown!)

4.  Cook until tender, adding garlic salt to taste.  When vegetables are cooked to crisp/tender stage, add your favorite jarred marinara sauce (tomato basil is good).

5.  Simmer on low, adding thawed cooked (tailess) shrimp at the end.  Just leave on the stove until heated through.

6.  The pasta:  at the same time, I cook spaghetti or linguini in a large pot of boiling, salted water.  Drain.  Then, toss with a little olive oil, garlic/herb blend (mine is McCormick) and some Parmesan cheese.  Pour the sauce over each serving.

Italian Stuffed Shells

  I dislike cleaning out the fridge!  There always seems to be several little bits of perfectly fine food that was leftover and is now bound for the disposal!  If you hate throwing away food, too, don't despair!  You can make my Italian stuffed shells recipe and  incorporate any of the fridge leftovers that you find (that you consider compatable with cheese and pasta shells...not that Tupperware of leftover pancake batter!  Ha!).  This recipe  is like the meatloaf  or vegetable soup that your grandma might have made on leftover clean out day!  It uses up the,"scraps"!

 Yesterday, as I pulled jars and plastic food containers out and set them on the island so I could wipe down my refrigerator shelves, I found a small container of probably 2 tablespoons of canned diced tomatoes, the remnants of fresh Roma tomatoe slices from sandwiches earlier in the week, a fifth of a bag of fresh baby spinach and some fresh mushrooms that were both past looking nice enough for salad.  On another shelf, I saved a partial bag of mozzarella cheese and a half-full container of ricotta cheese.  So, when I share this recipe, realize that it doesn't have exact amounts on some things;  we're using what we have.

First, I got out my large Texas skillet and browned an Italian sausage in a little olive oil (I always cut the casing off).  I browned a handful of lean ground beef in the same skillet with a little garlic salt.  Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil and throw in a box of jumbo pasta shells;  cook until half done, then drain and set aside to cool.  

  Place browned meat, leftover tomatoes and other vegetable remnants (I mix the fresh spinach in with the ricotta, later) into a greased slow cooker with a jar of roasted garlic flavored marinara sauce.  I put some of my fresh basil (from my back porch) in there, too.  Cook on low for several hours.

  When ready to put in the oven, mix mozzarella (or other leftover shredded cheese) with ricotta and 1 tablespoon parsley and garlic salt.  Use a teaspoon to stuff this cheese filling into the shells.  For half of our shells, I mixed the leftover spinach in with the ricotta-you could use up kale this way, too!

Now, put a thin layer of the sauce in the bottom of your greased casserole dish, layer the stuffed shells, top with the rest of the sauce and then shredded cheese.  Cover with non-stick foil and bake at 375 until shells are tender and cheese is melted.  Enjoy!

Baked Spaghetti with Bacon

The beginning of a new school year in our household has always meant pulling out a few of my easy, fast recipes for nights when there was very little time to get dinner on the table.  The criteria that these recipes had to meet was simple:  nutritious, quick to prepare, short list of ingredients and tasty!  Pasta dishes were always a hit.  After having spaghetti made the same way several times, though, the adults at the table start getting weary (not so, for the children;  they're creatures of habit).  If you'd like to mix up your "go-to school night  spaghetti" a little here's a recipe that uses bacon.  I think everyone at the table will like it and the cook will get an A+. (Have the kids who are complaining that they "need a snack";  they're "hungry";  and  "when's it going to be ready"  to tear up the salad and set the table.  They will "sneak" salad ingredients to munch on as they're helping, and you've gotten them to eat their vegetables without even trying :)

Baked Spaghetti with Bacon

1/2 lb. bacon, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes with liquid
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
8 oz. spaghetti, cooked and drained
garlic salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, brown bacon and onion until bacon is crisp;  drain.  Add tomatoes and tomato sauce;  bring to a boil.  Place cooked spaghetti in a 2 qt. baking dish.  Pour sauce over;  cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Yield:  4-6 servings.  Sprinkle parsley on top to garnish. 

Book I'm Reading Now:  Eudora Welty;  A Writer's Life

Swaps:
Blessed with Grace
All the Small Stuff
My Sweet and Savory
33 Shades of Green
Delightfully Dowling
Beyer Beware
Mandy's Recipe Box
It's a Blog Party
The Blackberry Vine
Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

Old Recipe File: Madame Rossi's Minestrone

This is a curious little recipe card from the old file box; it was typed on an index card and as you read it, you may agree with me that English may not have been the writer's first language. That just makes it even more interesting to me (maybe "Madame Rossi" was a French or Italian mother-in-law who passed down her recipe for soup). Sounds good to me... except for the addition of turnips! I'm not a turnip fan; they keep company on the list of "Things That I Don't Like To Have Touch My Tongue", right after okra, liver and ramps! I'm sure that I could down these food items if I had to, but not while there are any other choices.
Enough of my whining-have a wonderful Wednesday :0)

Madame Rossi's Minestrone

Cut up in pieces all sorts of fresh vegetables, including turnips, carrots and plenty of cabbage. To every 4 cups of navy beans, which have been soaked overnight, cook together in water to cover (with a little salt) for about 2 hours only, simmering gently and adding a little more water, if needed. Then make the following sauce:
Brown 1 sliced onion in butter, to which you have added a little olive oil and chopped salt pork. Cut small and add 1 large tomato, some celery, parsley and a clove of garlic. Cook together for about 20 minutes. Put soup and sauce together; add a good fistful of broken spaghetti and cook for another half hour. This is a meal.

I will be at these swaps today and tomorrow:
-WeareThatfamily
-DiningwithDebbie
-Kingscourt4
-Turningbacktheclock
-MizHelenscountrycottage
-Kellythekitchenkop
-The thriftyhome
-Prairiestory
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