Stuffed Shells

A couple of weeks ago, we had a really good snowstorm. It snowed all day & into the night. When I left work that evening, I wanted to take a picture of the snow to post here. None of them really turned out because it was too dark and too stormy, but this one was kinda cool. I had left my flash on by mistake and this is what I got - light reflecting off the snowflakes.

The master of the house loves the snow, but sometimes his feet get cold & he hops around on 3 legs. When we got home, we came in the back way of our building but Simon wanted to run around first. Then, he started his hop and had to be carried in. How sad is this? Who's in charge do you think?

The next day, as everyone was digging out, I had a day off and did a bit of cooking. I decided on this delicious pasta dish. It comes from the cookbook Crazy Plates by the sister team of Janet & Greta Podleski.

I also had a sun-dried tomato and assiago baguette from my favorite bread bakery, Pane Fresco. This was such a delicious meal, it required a delicious wine.


Jim got this bottle of Barolo as a tip from a customer, if you can believe it. We'd had it sitting for about a year and I thought it would be a good time to try it.

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The customer he got it from was an Italian gentleman who was from area where this wine is produced. He'd had this in his cellar for quite a while - it's a 1997! It went wonderfully well with the pasta. The wine had softened nicely, but would still have been able to age for a couple of more years easily. What a wonderful tip!

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SHE SELLS STUFFED SHELLS

(from Crazy Plates)

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18 jumbo pasta shells

1 tsp. olive oil

1/2 cup minced onions

1/2 cup grated carrots

1 clove garlic, minced

1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry & chopped

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1/2 cup low-fat (1%) cottage cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg white

2 tbsp. chopped basil

2 cups of your favorite pasta sauce

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Heat olive oil in a small, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and garlic. Cook & stir for 2-3 minutes, until vegetables begin to soften. Remove from heat and let cool.

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Cook pasta shells according to package directions. Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again. Set aside.

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In a medium bowl, combine carrot-onion mixture, spinach, cheese, egg white and basil. Mix well. Stuff each cooked shell with a heaping tablespoonful of filling.

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Pour 1 cup pasta sauce over the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Arrange stuffed shells in a single layer over sauce. Spoon remaining sauce over shells. Cover and bake at 350F for 30 minutes.

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Makes 6 servings