Friday, May 14, 2004

Breakfast
Peanut butter and blackberry jam sandwich

Dinner
Stuffed shells
Seared chicken breast with melted mozzarella cheese

Recipes:

STUFFED SHELLS
1 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 a large onion, chopped small
2 large cloves garlic, minced
a few handfuls of spinach and chard, washed and chopped
1 12-oz. package large shell pasta
3/4 large carton part-skim ricotta cheese
1 egg
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of hot red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. salt
a couple grinds of black pepper
1/4 c. fresh parsley, minced
1/4 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
quick tomato sauce (below)
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

In the olive oil, saute the onion until translucent. Add the garlic and saute for another minute or two. Add the spinach and chard, plus a tablespoon or two of water, and toss until the greens start to wilt. Cover and steam 10 minutes, stirring often.
Begin cooking shell pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, combine ricotta, egg, nutmeg, red pepper, salt, black pepper, parsley, and Parmesan in a large bowl. When the spinach mixture is done, add it to the ricotta mixture and stir well.
Wipe out the pan you used for the spinach mixture and use it to prepare quick tomato sauce. At this point, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
While sauce is simmering, stuff the shells with spinach-cheese mixture. You'll have extra shells, but that's intentional because some of them always split while they're boiling.
Pour a thin layer of sauce into an 11-by-14-inch baking pan. Arrange the shells tightly in the pan and pour the remaining sauce on top of them. Sprinkle with mozzarella and bake 35 minutes or until bubbling and golden.

QUICK TOMATO SAUCE
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 a large onion, chopped small
1/2 a green bell pepper, chopped small
1/2 a bulb of fennel, chopped small
2 large sprigs of fresh oregano, chopped
15-oz. can diced tomatoes
8-oz. can tomato sauce

Saute the onion, green pepper, and fennel in the olive oil until tender. Add oregano, tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Simmer, covered, until flavors are blended. It doesn't matter if it doesn't get all the way done, because you'll be using it on the shells and the oven will finish it.

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