Four-Cheese Stuffed Shells

Servings: 8

Ingredients:

• 12-oz. box jumbo shells pasta
• 15-oz. container ricotta cheese
• 1 cup Muenster cheese, shredded
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup Asiago medium cheese, shredded
• ½ cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 28-oz. jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup Muenster cheese, shredded
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.  Cook the jumbo shells in boiling water 2-3 minutes short of package directions. Drain and rinse.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, 1 cup of Muenster cheese, ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, Asiago cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix well. Stuff a spoonful of the cheese mixture into each cooked shell. Place the stuffed shells cheese-side-up into the prepared baking dish. 

3. Evenly pour the spaghetti sauce over the stuffed shells. Top with 1 cup of shredded Muenster cheese and ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes. Serve warm with garlic bread and green salad.

Meatball Subs on Fresh-Baked Hoagies with Homemade Potato Chips

Yield:  8 rolls, 16 meatballs with sauce and 4 cups of potato chips

Hoagie Ingredients:
1 package active yeast
1 and 1/2 cups warm water (approx 110 degrees)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/8 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons salt
4 to 4 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Melted butter, for brushing

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine water, yeast and sugar.  Stir until combined and let sit until foamy, approximately 5-8 minutes.  Add flour, salt, and vegetable oil and mix with dough hook until dough comes together and pulls away from the side of the bowl, 6-8 minutes.  Add more flour if needed, but dough should be just barely sticky and manageable by hand.  Form into a ball and place into a greased bowl, flipping once to grease all sides of dough.  Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free area for 45 minutes.

Once risen, punch down dough and separate into 8 equal pieces.  Form each piece into an oval and place on a sil-pat or parchment covered baking sheet, 2 inches apart.  Use scissors or a knife to cut two slices across the top of the bread, approximately 1/4 inch deep.  Cover and let rise again for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Bake for 13-18 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and immediately brush with melted butter.  Sprinkle with garlic salt if desired.  Let cool completely before slicing with a serrated knife for serving.

Homemade Potato Chips Ingredients:
3-4 medium russet potatoes
Sea Salt
4 cups vegetable or canola oil

Preheat oil (in a safe place, out of child’s reach) to 400 degrees.  Using a mandolin, slice potatoes as thin as possible.  Place sliced potatoes in a big bowl of cold water and let sit for 15-20 minutes.  Rinse well, and place potatoes in a single layer over paper towels to dry completely.

15-20 slices at a time, carefully drop potatoes into hot oil.  Allow potatoes to cook for 3-5 minutes per batch, or until chips are completely crispy and light golden brown.  Remove from oil and place on a paper towel covered plate and allow to drain.  While draining, season the chips with your choice of seasoning.  Repeat process until all chips are cooked.

These don’t have to be served warm and can be made in advance.  They will stay crispy if stored in an airtight container once cooled.  Please be careful using hot oil with children around! 

Italian Meatballs:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, finely chopped, divided (1/2 for meatballs, 1/2 for marinara)
1 cup italian style bread crumbs (or panko or white instant rice)
1 large egg
2 Tablespoons dried basil
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder (or 4 cloves of fresh garlic, chopped)
1/4 cup of milk or half and half

In a large dutch oven, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat.  In a large bowl, combine beef, 1/2 of a large onion, bread crumbs, egg, basil, pepper, salt, garlic powder and milk.  Use your hands to combine.  Form mixture into meatballs, approximately 1 to 1.5 inches in diameter.   Place meatballs into dutch oven and brown slightly on all sides, using a pair of tongs to carefully flip as needed.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and transfer par-cooked meatballs to a parchment or sil-pat lined baking sheet.  Bake for 20-30 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.

Quick Marinara Sauce:
15 oz can of tomato sauce or diced tomatoes
Drippings from above meatball recipe
1/2 of a large onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon dried oregano

After removing the meatballs from the dutch oven, add the other onion half and saute until onions are becoming clear and transparent.  Add tomatoes, butter, pepper and oregano and simmer until meatballs come out of the oven, about 25 minutes.  Add meatballs back to the sauce or serve the sauce separately for topping.

To prepare sandwich:
Slice bread with a serrated knife.  Place 2-3 meatballs on each sandwich, and top with warm marinara and shredded mozzarella cheese.  Top with your favorite sandwich toppings – we use grated parmesan, black olives and pickles at our house!

Vegan & Gluten Free Mac n’ Cheese

Ingredients:

• 9oz-12oz / 250g-350g gluten free macaroni pasta
• 2 Tbsp dried parsley flakes OR ¼ cup fresh parley, chopped
• 1½ cups cauliflower OR white beans (eg. cannellini)
• 1½ cups sweet potato, diced
• 1 cup nutritional yeast (nooch)
• ¾ cup almond milk OR no-chicken stock
• ¼ cup grapeseed oil or extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic (optional)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
• ½ tsp paprika
• Optional veggies: steamed broccoli, kale or peas

Method:

1. In a medium pot and steamer bring water to a boil. Steam sweet potato and cauliflower until soft, about 10-15 minutes.
2. Cook pasta according to packet directions. Drain.
3. While pasta is cooking, add everything except the pasta and parsley to a blender and blend until smooth (I use a Vitamix).
4. Combine cooked pasta, blender cheese sauce, and parsley in the pot or a large bowl.

Banana Split Ice Box Cake

10 servings

Ingredients

• 1 carton (16 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed (or use 3 batches of homemade whipped cream which is about 6 cups of whipped cream)
• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
• 1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
• 24 whole graham crackers
• 2 medium bananas, sliced thin
• Toppings: additional sliced bananas and sliced fresh strawberries
• Chocolate Drizzle:
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix the whipped topping, sour cream, and pudding mix until blended. Fold in pineapple. Fill a Ziploc bag with pudding mixture and cut off the corner of the bag.
2. On a flat serving plate or large baking dish arrange four graham crackers in a rectangle. Pipe about 1 cup of the pudding mixture over the crackers; top with about 1/4 cup banana slices. Repeat layers five times. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. Graham crackers should be soft.
3. Before serving, make the chocolate drizzle. For the Chocolate Drizzle: Heat the cream in the microwave until hot (about 20-30 seconds). Place chocolate chips in a small bowl and pour hot cream over the chips. Let it sit for a second and then stir until chocolate is smooth. Let cool slightly while preparing the bananas and strawberries for the topping.
4. Arrange sliced fruit on top. Drizzle with chocolate and serve.

Pasta Al Forno

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs mild italian sausage
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans petite diced tomatoes
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 1 (4 oz) stick butter
• 1/2 C + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 2 1/2 C whole milk
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• pinch nutmeg
• 1 lb dry rigatoni, cooked
• 2 C mozzarella cheese, shredded

Instructions

1. Brown sausage until cooked through and drain off excess fat. Stir in tomatoes and garlic and bring to a simmer. Cook covered on low for at least 30 minutes, longer if time allows. Stir in basil just before assembly.
2. Make the bechamel by melting butter in a medium sized sauce pan. Stir the flour into the butter, adding more flour if needed to create a toothpaste-like consistency. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
3. Using a whisk, stir in milk and continue to stir until it comes to a boil and is thickened. Remove from heat and stir in salt and nutmeg.
4. In a large casserole dish (9x13” or bigger) place half of the pasta followed by half of the tomato sauce and bechamel. Top with 1 C of mozzarella cheese.
5. Repeat the layering one more time with the remaining ingredients.
6. Bake at 350° for about 45 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is browned.

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