With Christmas right around the corner, pasta meals are an easy quick fix on those busy days leading up to the big day. Stuffed Shells are truly the perfect meal to make ahead of time since you can prepare everything but hold off on baking them until you’re ready to eat.
Stuffed shells are a tasty dish that is usually made with ricotta cheese or other types of cheese inside the pasta shells. Tomato sauce is another common ingredient in the dish. However, there are so many ways to jazz it up and one might be surprised just how many unique ingredients one can put into a shell.
I have always loved stuffed pasta shells and over the years I have stuffed them in every way I could imagine. There are endless variations such as using different cheeses and herbs or making some homemade marinara or sun-dried tomato sauce.
There’s a reason surf and turf is often one of the most desired items on a restaurant menu — it’s because meat and fish are the perfect complement to each other! The light flavor of fish and shellfish is a great addition to the richer, heartier flavor of meat.
Today, I’m combining some shrimp and chicken sausage in my filling and topping it with a nice smoky sun-dried tomato parmesan sauce. Should be good!
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Shrimp & Chicken Sausage Pasta Shells
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Instructions
Pasta / Filling
Cook pasta shells in a pot of salted boiling water for about 10-12 minutes. Drain well & lay on a wire rack to keep them from sticking together until ready to fill.
In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium heat. Add onion & mushrooms; sauté until tender & moisture has evaporated from mushrooms. Add chicken sausage & minced garlic. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add wine & cook until sausage is no longer pink about 4-5 minutes more. Drain well & transfer to a large bowl.
Peel & devein shrimp; chop into 1/2-inch pieces. In a small bowl, whisk together broth & flour. Set aside.
In the same skillet, heat remaining 1 Tbsp oil over medium heat. Add shrimp; cook, stirring constantly, until shrimp begins to turn pink. Stir in flour mixture. Add cream, Old Bay seasoning, garlic powder & Italian seasoning; stir until thickened. Remove from heat & stir in sausage mixture. Set aside until ready to use.
Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
In a skillet, heat oil. Add onion & cook for 2 minutes until it starts to soften. Add garlic, oregano, thyme, paprika & sun-dried tomatoes. Cook for 2 minutes while stirring. Add vegetable broth; bring to a boil & simmer for 5 minutes.
Stir in cream & parmesan cheese into the sauce. Remove from heat & cool for a few minutes. Pour sauce into food processor & process to a fairly smooth consistency. It will not be completely smooth but that is fine.
Assembly / Baking
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Spread half of the sauce over the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Divide filling between cooked shells. Lay in rows over sauce. Pour remaining sauce over top carefully covering all the shells.
Loosely lay a piece of foil paper over baking dish and bake for 45 minutes or until bubbling nicely.
Bacon-wrapped shrimp and scallops may sound like an appetizer only served at fancy cocktail parties. But tossed in parmesan and spices then wrapped in bacon makes for some incredible skewers to serve with some vegetable couscous as a main dish.
There are all kinds of tasty add-ins to couscous, such as mushrooms and zucchini. Mushrooms add an earthy, savory flavor to couscous that makes it a good complement to main dishes like roast chicken, pork, beef or seafood.
Couscous has become one of my favorite pantry staples. It’s quick, convenient, versatile and makes a good alternative to ‘traditional’ rice or pasta.
Couscous used to be hand rolled into tiny pasta. It is now available in instant- cook packages or bulk, where couscous has already been pre-cooked by steaming and then dried. This leaves us with the simple task of re-hydrating in water or broth, which typically takes something like 5-10 minutes!
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Bacon Wrapped Shrimp & Scallop Skewers
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Instructions
Vegetable Couscous
In a saucepan, slightly pre-cook bacon strips. Remove from saucepan onto a paper towel. To saucepan containing bacon drippings, add zucchini, mushrooms, onion, garlic & cilantro paste; sauté until tender crisp. Place in a bowl.
To the saucepan, add broth & salt (if using) & bring to a boil; add couscous. Cover & remove from heat; set aside until liquid has been absorbed, about 5-10 minutes.
Add bowl of vegetables & gently toss with a fork. Keep warm while you cook seafood.
Shrimp & Scallops
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In a bowl, combine oil, garlic, basil, oregano & Parmesan. Add shrimp & scallops; toss gently until well coated then tread on wooden skewers along with bacon strips.
Line 9 x 13-inch baking pan with foil. Place skewers with tip ends resting on pan edges.
Place in oven & roast JUST until seafood is slightly firm & cooked through & bacon is cooked. Serve immediately with vegetable couscous.
I’m sure you are probably quite familiar with the Dutch Baby or German pancake. I have featured them on the blog numerous times over the years.
A cross between a pancake and a crepe, a Dutch baby begins with the thin pancake-like batter which is poured into an oven proof dish. When it cooks it starts to rise and puff up. When the edges of the pancake are brown, it is ready to come out of the oven. The center is perfect for adding either sweet or savory ingredients.
The recipe is a basic, universal one that can be adapted in a number of different ways. For example, you could add berries or other fruit to the batter or omit the sugar and vanilla and make a savory version with veggies and different spices.
We haven’t had a Dutch baby meal for a long time so I’m making a savory ones with zucchini, mushrooms & some Italian chicken sausage. Should be good!
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Savory Dutch Baby Pancakes
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Instructions
Dutch Baby Pancakes for 2
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In a bowl, whisk eggs & milk. Add flour & whisk until incorporated. Whisk in parmesan cheese, sliced scallions, parsley, thyme, salt & pepper. Set aside.
Filling
Heat oil in a skillet. Add onions & sauté until translucent. Add zucchini & sauté for 3-5 minutes until zucchini is tender. Season with salt & pepper. Transfer to a bowl. Add another 2 teaspoons of oil to skillet. Add mushrooms & sauté for 5-7 minutes. Cook until mushrooms are tender & most of the moisture has cooked off. Season with salt & pepper; transfer to another bowl. Keep filling ingredients warm will you bake the Dutch Baby pancake,
Add 1 tsp of oil to skillet. Add sliced chicken sausage. Cook until browned. Transfer to another bowl. Add vegetable broth to skillet; whisk in flour & seasoning. Bring to a simmer while whisking until mixture thickens. Remove from heat & keep warm.
Bake /Serve
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Melt 4 Tbsp butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once the butter is melted & the skillet is hot, pour in the batter. Carefully transfer the skillet to preheated oven & bake 25 minutes, The Dutch Baby will puff up during cooking, but once it's removed from the oven & starts to cool it will deflate slightly.
When Dutch Baby is cooked, remove from oven & place some of the chicken sausage in it then top with the veggies & the remainder of chicken sausage. Ladle sauce over top & sprinkle with grated cheese & fresh thyme. Serve immediately.
Veggie loaf, who thought of this? It seems it was one of many recommended meals during WWII to help housewives provide nutritious and varied meals while being faced with food shortages and strict rations.
The veggie loaf was meant to achieve several purposes – use leftovers (veggies & stale bread), replace meat, provide variety and use ingredients that were readily available and economical such as beans and carrots.
From what I recall, there were few vegetarian loaf recipes until the late ’60s. By the end of the 1970s, however, there was at least one veggie loaf recipe in every natural food’s cookbook. Over the years, though, vegetarian loaves gained a bad reputation. Sadly, many early recipes came out of the oven resembling bricks and were just about as appetizing. If you followed a typical recipe as it was written, you wouldn’t have to worry about not having enough food to go around. No one wanted a second helping. Times have definitely changed, with the increased interest in the vegetarian lifestyle of today.
Even though Brion & I are not vegetarians, I have always loved vegetables, so incorporating a veggie loaf into a meal with meat works for me.
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Mushroom, Chard & Brown Rice Loaf w/ Mustard Sauce
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Instructions
Vegetable Loaf
In a small pot, bring 1 cup water & a pinch of salt to a boil. Add rice, lower heat to a simmer & cook rice until water has been absorbed & rice is tender. Set aside.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions & cook until translucent. Stir in garlic & celery; season with salt & pepper. Cook until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
Add mushrooms & herbs; cook until mushrooms release their juices & the liquid evaporates, about 5 more minutes. Add chard & cook until wilted. Stir in sun dried tomatoes, then remove from heat & let cool slightly.
Preheat oven to 375 F. Generously grease a loaf pan with olive oil.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, mustard & broth. Add vegetable mixture & rice; stir to combine. Pour vegetable mixture into loaf pan & smooth flat with a spatula.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, until edges are nicely browned. While the vegetable loaf is baking, prepare mustard sauce.
Allow to cool slightly, then run a knife along the edges & flip onto a serving platter & slice. Serve with mustard sauce.
Mustard Sauce
In a small pot, melt butter then add flour to form a roux. Cook until bubbly & flour is lightly browned, stirring constantly. Add vegetable broth & mustard. Bring to a simmer & cook for about 5 -10 minutes. Remove from heat & serve with vegetable loaf.
Risotto, a classic Italian dish with origins in the northern part of the country, is traditionally made with Arborio rice, a short-grained rice with a particularly starchy consistency. While the classic version is always a treat, I love the versatility of risotto, which can be made with just about any grain. In particular barley, not only because this nutty grain adds complexity to the dish in terms of taste and texture, but also because of the many health benefits of the grain.
The amount of work involved with this dish is much less than you’d think. Risotto has the reputation of needing a lot of attention, but in reality, it just needs a few stirs now and then, and little else.
Risotto is undoubtedly pure Italian comfort food. This creamy, hearty dish is usually associated with cold weather. However, risotto can be made with just about any seasonal ingredient and is delicious enjoyed year round!
Risotto can be as elegant or as simple as you like. Using butternut squash & beets adds some winter vegetable interest.
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Barley Risotto w/ Roast Butternut Squash & Beets
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Instructions
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Rub unpeeled beets with some oil & bake until soft. Cool slightly, peel & dice. Set aside.
In a skillet, melt half the butter & sauté onion until soft; add the barley & mix until coated with butter. Add the wine, stir & allow to evaporate. Heat the broth & add a ladle to onion/barley mixture & leave until most of the broth is absorbed. Uncover, add some more broth; do not let the barley dry out. Cook barley until it is soft, over a medium heat. It should take about 20 minutes. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
On a baking tray, place squash, drizzle with some olive oil & sprinkle with pepper & add rosemary. Roast at 350 F. until soft but still firm. During the last 3 minutes add the beets to reheat them. Remove the rosemary.
When barley is cooked, remove the pan from the oven; add remaining butter & parmesan & stir well. Set aside for a couple of minutes. It should become quite creamy.
To serve, place on serving plates & top with roasted vegetables. Serve immediately.
Another zucchini recipe? Sure, why not. It’s such a versatile vegetable and it doesn’t hurt to add more veggies to our daily menu!
By replacing the lasagna noodles with zucchini slices, the tasty result has all the wonderful flavors we love about the Italian dish – it’s even very similar in its texture!
This lasagna is perfect in the summer with your garden-fresh veggies and herbs, or in the winter when you need a comforting meal. This updated version features zucchini slices with layers of cheese, bacon, leeks, mushrooms, swiss chard and a flavorful sun-dried tomato sauce.
Lasagna in any form must be up there on our list of comfort food favorites. What’s not to love about lasagna? They’re saucy, cheesy, and perfect to fill with our favorite ingredients. The possibilities are endless when we can really start to think outside the basic fillings.
The replacement of traditional pasta with zucchini adds great texture to the dish, plus a beautiful presentation. The longer you cook the lasagna, the softer the zucchini noodles will become.
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Bacon Zucchini Lasagna
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Instructions
Bacon & Veggies
Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté bacon until slightly crisp. Remove & blot on paper towel. Add leeks & mushrooms to the pan; sauté 4 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic; sauté 1 minute. Spoon the mixture into a large bowl.
Heat 1 tsp of oil in saucepan; add zucchini slices. Sauté 4 minutes or until tender & just beginning to brown. Remove from pan to a plate. Heat remaining 1 tsp of oil & add the Swiss chard; sauté 4 minutes or until wilted. Combine bacon & Swiss chard with vegetable mixture in bowl.
Sauce
In a skillet, heat oil. Add onion & cook 2 minutes until it starts to soften. Add garlic, oregano, thyme, paprika & sun-dried tomatoes. Cook for 2 minutes while stirring with a spatula. Add veg broth & allow to bubble for 2 minutes then add salt & pepper (if using). Bring to a boil then reduce heat & simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the cream & parmesan cheese.
Cheese
Grate mozzarella & parmesan cheeses. In a bowl, combine cottage cheese & 150 gm (1 1/2 cups) mozzarella; stir well.
Assembly
Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with veg oil.
Spread a small amount of the sauce mixture in the bottom of prepared baking dish. Arrange 1/3 of zucchini slices over the sauce; top with half of the cottage cheese mixture, then half of the veg/bacon mixture & about a cup of sauce. Repeat layers, ending with zucchini slices. Spread the remaining sauce mixture on top of the zucchini slices; sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella.
Cover & bake for 20 minutes. Uncover & bake an additional 20 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly & beginning to brown, Allow to sit about 10 minutes before serving.
It seems the Portobello mushroom got its name in the 1980’s during a marketing effort to glamorize and hopefully sell, a mushroom that was often discarded. The Portobello mushroom is a mature form of the common mushroom known by various names: button mushroom, white mushroom or cremini mushroom.
It appears that ‘Portobello’ was the original name invented but from what I understand there is no right spelling …. Portabella, Portobella??
The mushrooms cap can be up to 6-inches wide (15 cm). Some will have smooth caps while others will have caps that slightly wrinkled.
This savory casserole combines sautéed Portobello mushroom slices, onion & egg noodles and is topped off with a buttery crumb mixture and Parmesan cheese. Brion & I really enjoy the rich, strong flavor you get from Portobello mushrooms so I think this casserole will be a keeper!
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Portobello Pasta Casserole w/ Crumb Crust
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Instructions
Preheat oven to 450 F. In a pot of salted, boiling water cook noodles according to package directions. Drain, rinse & set aside.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion & sauté until slightly browned. Add water & mushrooms; cover & simmer for 10-12 minutes until mushrooms have given off a considerable amount of liquid. Remove to a bowl & set aside.
In the skillet, melt 3 Tbsp butter; add flour & cook until frothy. Slowly add vegetable broth, stirring constantly as it thickens. Add salt, soy sauce & dried savory; simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Add mushroom mixture & cooked noodles; toss to mix well.
Place mushroom/noodle mixture in a lightly greased shallow baking dish, cover evenly with the crumbs & top with the cheese. Drizzle with butter & bake until lightly toasted. Serve immediately.
Though they come in all shapes and sizes, dumplings are a near-universal culinary constant as almost every culture has one. So naturally, dumpling recipes are incredibly versatile, coming with a wide array of fillings, wrappers, shapes and sizes. Eaten as an appetizer, dessert, side dish or for the main meal, they might just be the ultimate comfort food.
Chicken and shrimp go together surprisingly well, and this dish is no exception. In March of this year (2021), I posted a blog about Russian Pelmeni. Since then, Brion & I have had ‘pelmeni’ numerous times in which I’ve experimented with various fillings. In case you’re not familiar with these dumplings, traditional Russian pelmeni consist of a filling wrapped in thin, unleavened dough. The word “pelmeni” describes the ear-shaped appearance of these dumplings.
When I made them for the March blog, I used a different technique for preparing them. Instead of making them into the traditional ear shape, I rolled the dough out into a large rectangle. I then spread the raw meat filling over it very thinly and rolled it up in a jelly roll fashion. After slicing the roll into 2-inch pieces, they were steam cooked in broth in a skillet. It’s a quick and easy take on authentic pelmeni.
Since Brion & I eat a lot of chicken and shrimp, I could see no reason to ‘develop’ a new version with an almost oriental twist on it.
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Shrimp & Chicken Pelmeni
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Ingredients
Broth for Steaming Pelmeni
Ingredients
Broth for Steaming Pelmeni
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Instructions
Dough
In a bowl, combine all dough ingredients & knead until a smooth dough ball forms, about 10 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap & set aside to rest until your filling is prepared.
Filling
Chop mushrooms & mince garlic. In a skillet, heat butter & add garlic. When aromatic & light golden, add mushrooms & a light sprinkle of salt. Cook for about 2 minutes, until fragrant, soft & roughly a third of the original volume. Set aside in a bowl to cool.
Chop shrimp into pieces the size of large peas. Add to the mushrooms with the chicken, green onion, water chestnuts & ginger. Combine with a fork.
Stir together salt & white pepper, sugar, soy sauce & water. Pour over the filling; stir to mix & firm up. Cover & set aside to rest for 30 minutes.
Assembly
Once dough has rested, transfer to a floured surface. Roll out the dough into a large, THIN rectangle. Spread filling over the dough, leaving a 1/4-inch at the far side of the dough.
Tightly roll dough up, starting from the wider side, forming a log. Put seam side down to seal the edges. Seal ends of the dough as well. Using a very sharp knife, cut the dough log into 2-inch sections.
In a large skillet that will accommodate all pelmeni, heat oil & cook onion until translucent. Add garlic & continue cooking until fragrant. Add grated carrot; cook about 1-2 minutes more.
Place pelmeni rolls on top of veggies, add vegetable broth, salt & pepper. Cover with a lid & simmer for 30 minutes on a low heat. Check pelmeni from time to time, to make sure there is still some broth in the skillet. Add more broth if it evaporates too fast. Garnish with extra sliced green onions if desired. Serve.
Recipe Notes
- A nice condiment for these dumplings would be a sweet chili sauce.
Just for a change of pace, I decided to make a nutty tasting bulgur wheat stuffing instead of the traditional bread version for our tenderloin today.
Bulgur is more than just something to make tabbouleh with. Its nutty taste and hearty texture work in so many dishes or you can just use it as a substitute for other grains like brown rice, couscous or quinoa.
This kind of wheat should not be confused with its less-tricky-to-harvest cousin, cracked wheat. While they are similar, cracked wheat is completely raw while bulgur is pre-cooked and has a much shorter prep time.
For me, if the recipe involves grain, I’m in! I guess you can take the farmer’s daughter off the farm but you can never take away her love for food with grain in it.
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Pork Tenderloin w/ Bulgur Apricot Stuffing
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Instructions
In a saucepan, place bulgur & vegetable broth. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium low & simmer until tender, about 10-12 minutes. Add chopped apricots during the last 5 minutes. Remove from heat & drain any excess liquid. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together egg & spices. Add almonds, scallions & reserved bulgur & apricots; mix to combine.
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Butterfly pork tenderloin & pound with a meat mallet to an even thickness. Place on an oiled piece of foil paper on a baking sheet. Cover one half of the tenderloin with stuffing; press to flatten a bit. Fold other half of tenderloin over top stuffing. Secure with kitchen twine to keep stuffing from falling out during roasting.
Brush with olive oil & season with salt & pepper. Roast about 45 minutes or until tenderloin has a slight pink color remaining. Remove from oven & allow to sit for a few minutes before untying & slicing.
For the blog picture, I opened our whole tenderloin before slicing to show how nice this filling is. These flavors are so good!
This shrimp vegetable couscous not only makes a fabulous midweek meal for four but can be easily multiplied to accommodate more. The quick cooking couscous turns this simple recipe into a one pot wonder with a fusion of flavors.
Couscous has become one of my favorite pantry staples. It’s quick, convenient, versatile and makes a good alternative to traditional rice or pasta.
There are actually three different kinds of couscous:
Pearl (Israeli) couscous, which resembles tiny pasta shaped like pearls.
Lebanese couscous, which is a bit larger, the size of peas.
Then, there is the smallest size couscous made of fine granules of durum wheat. This one is associated more with Moroccan cooking.
Couscous used to be hand rolled into tiny pasta. It is now available in instant- cook packages or bulk, where couscous has already been pre-cooked by steaming and then dried. This leaves us with the simple task of re-hydrating in water, which typically takes something like 5 minutes!
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Israeli Couscous w/ Shrimp & Zucchini
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Instructions
In a medium saucepan, fry chopped bacon until crisp, about 3 minutes; add shrimp during last few minutes of sautéing. Remove bacon & shrimp to a bowl & set aside.
To saucepan containing bacon drippings, add zucchini, mushrooms, leek, garlic & cilantro; sauté until tender crisp. Add to bacon & shrimp bowl.
To the saucepan, add broth & salt & bring to a boil; add couscous. Cover saucepan & remove from heat; set aside until liquid has been absorbed, about 5-10 minutes.
Add bowl of bacon, vegetables & shrimp; gently stir together with a fork. Serve immediately.
