Easy and delicious Stuffed Shells Recipe

 

I love Italian food in all shapes and sizes. I love the cheese and the sauce. Parmesan is my favorite cheese. I also love garlic. It's one of my favorite things. There is no such thing as too much garlic in my opinion. However, it does need to always be fresh. The only time I use garlic powder is when I make Chex mix. Fresh garlic is always the best. 

One of the recipes I like to make is stuffed shells. I don't make it as often as I like because it makes a lot of food. I am not even sure how long I had the box of jumbo shells in my pantry, the date was still good. It just sounded so good. So I made it before Noah and I watched The Wizard of OZ. It was his first time. I'm surprised I was able to convince him to watch it. 

I wanted to share my super simple stuffed shells recipe. Try saying that five times fast. 

You will need:
19 jumbo shells (cook extra incase they break)
15 ounces of Ricotta Cheese
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan 
5 cloves of very minced garlic (I use the Nextrend Garlic twist to mince it)
Spaghetti sauce (I use Hunts in a can) 
1 cup  shredded Mozzarella 
A few sprinkles of Italian seasoning 

Cook the shells in boiling water for 8 minutes. Let drain and cool. 

In a bowl mix the ricotta, Parmesan, garlic together. Sprinkle in a little bit of Italian seasoning. Be sure not to go overboard. 

Coat the bottom of your 13x9 pan lightly with sauce. 

Stuff a spoon full of the mixture in the shell. Place in the pan.

Pour over the remaining sauce. 

Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. 

Sprinkle Mozzarella on  top and return to the oven for 5 minutes. 

Enjoy!

The garlic is such an important part of it. The garlic really comes through beautifully. It really gives it a lot of flavor. It's such an easy and fun recipe to make with your family. Many stuffed shell recipes call for egg but I don't use it. 

I am really looking forward to dinner tomorrow.

Chicken Parmesan Recipe

 

My favorite Italian food is Chicken Parmesan. I order it at almost every Italian restaurant I go to. Parmesan is my favorite cheese after all. It seems like it's a difficult dish to make but it's not. It can be a little time consuming with frying the chicken. I like to make extra and freeze the cooked chicken for a quick meal later. I have been making chicken parm for years. I used to use Shake n bake but it wasn't needed. I did learn to not pour hot grease in a plastic party cup because it will melt quickly. 

 

 Here's my recipe:
 You will need:

A package of raw chicken tenders or breasts 
Pasta sauce of your choice. I make my own. 
1/2 cup Bread crumbs
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese 
Italian cheese
Vegetable oil
Two eggs

Pound chicken very thinly between wax paper

Mix cheese and bread crumbs in a shallow baking pan. 

In a separate baking dish crack two eggs with a tablespoon of water. Beat together. 

Starting with the egg mixture place the chicken in and coat with egg. Then the bread crumb mixture. 

Coat the bottom of your skillet with oil about an inch. Heat on medium high and fry each piece of chicken until golden brown and cooked through. Repeat until all chicken is cooked. 

In a 9x9 pan spread a layer of sauce. Then a layer of chicken. Followed by sauce and another layer of chicken followed by a final layer of sauce. 

Cook in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from the oven and cover with Italian cheese.
Return to the oven for 5 minutes until cheese is melted.  Serve with shredded Parmesan on top. 

I like to make broccoli on the side. I make broccoli with Parmesan and bread crumbs. It ties together nicely. 

How to make chocolate covered Strawberries

 When you are going to romance someone the best way is through their stomach. It doesn't matter if they are male or female or who they are. Everyone loves to eat. If you think about a luxurious dessert, you may think of chocolate covered strawberries. Sure you can buy them from the bakery or at a specialty store but prepare to pay out the nose for them. The chocolate covered strawberries could cost you a couple bucks each. I remember making them randomly in my apartment before I was a mom. It just sounded good. I didn't have the money to buy some at the local chocolate shop. So I made my own. I have made them with all kinds of chocolate. Everything from chocolate chips to candy bars. 

Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Big strawberries
Chocolate of your choice 
1 teaspoon of shortening 

Melt the chocolate and shortening in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second intervals until smooth. 
Dip the strawberries and put it on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. 

Here's some ideas to make them more fancy:

You can add crumbled candy bar and sprinkle on

Sprinkles or chocolate chips

You can drizzle candy melts or another type of chocolate on them after they dry. 
Just have fun with it. 

Put in the refrigerator to harden and enjoy!