So my wonderful hubby has been asking me for stuffed shells for a very long time now, and now that I had spring break this week, I was finally able to make them for him. However, I made him a little surprise with the shells. Here’s how the conversations went.

So I really didn’t want to tell him, but these shells, not only were they yummy, but I made them a bit healthy too by adding spinach to the inside. They ended up not taking as much time as I thought they would either, so I think this might become one of our regulars.

Stuffed Shells with Spinach + 5 Cheeses

Sources: Combo of back of Meijer box, Renea , Two Novice Chefs, One Tiny Kitchen

and of course a little bit of me

Add the pasta shells to a boiling pot of water and cook for 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and cover the bottom of the baking dish with some pasta sauce.

Mix all 5 of the cheeses, eggs, seasonings, and a bit of salt and pepper in a food processor and process until smooth. Then add the spinach to the food processor along with a little bit of the pasta sauce.

Drain the pasta and fill each shell with 1 1/2 tsp of the mixture. Then place each shell in the baking dish. Top the shells with more mozzarella or parmesan cheese and then with more sauce.

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 25-30 minutes.

It’s a pretty basic sterotype that Russians enjoy Vodka. Well, based on this, I could assume that being Russian, I would enjoy Vodka Penne. This is actually one of my favorite ways to make pasta, and Francis loves it. It’s really easy to make as well and doesn’t take more than 15 min.

Penne with Vodka Sauce

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup vodka
1 cup vegetable stock (I use the vegetable bullion cubes and a little bit, maybe 1/3 cup water)
1 can crushed tomatoes (32 ounces)
Coarse salt and pepper
16 ounces penne
1/2 cup heavy cream
Basil leaves
Oregano
Garlic Powder
Italian Seasoning
Parmesan cheese
Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add oil, butter and garlic. Sautee for a couple minutes. Add vodka to the pan and reduce by half, this will take 2 or 3 minutes. Add vegetable stock, tomatoes and spices (oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, pretty much, anything you want). Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

While sauce simmers, cook pasta in salted boiling water.

Stir heavy cream into sauce along with Parmesan cheese. When sauce returns to a bubble, remove it from heat. Drain pasta. Toss hot pasta with sauce and basil leaves.

Recipe adapted from Foodtv.com

I think this post needs a disclaimer: I am not a photographer, nor have I ever taken a photography class…aka…this picture is pretty bad…but the lasagna is amazing!

My Mother-in-law came up with a 10min prep-time lasagna recipe that doesn’t include Ricotta cheese (crazy I know!!!) and still tastes amazing. Also, this lasagna doesn’t have any meat, which is great for me because I’ve been a vegetarian for 10 years. I make meat for Francis, and veggie dishes for myself, but this is an awesome vegetarian lasagna that is filling enough for my carnivore.

My MIL’S Super-East Lasagna

Ingredients:
-2 big containers (I can’t remember how many oz! Sorry!!! I think it’s like 28 maybe?) Low fat-Small curd cottage cheese
-2 eggs
-3/4 of one of those cylinder things of Parmesan Cheese
-About 1/2 bag of mozzarella cheese
-Jar of spaghetti sauce
-Box of lasagna noodles Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together cottage cheese, eggs and Parmesan. Then, (most important step here!!!) spread a thin layer of pasta sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 glass baking dish. Take RAW noodles and start layering:
noodles, followed by 1/2 the cheese mixture, then 1/2 the jar of sauce, another layer of noodles, the other 1/2 the cheese mixture, a layer of mozzarella, and the last layer is the other 1/2 the jar of pasta sauce.
Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hr 15 min. Remove the aluminum and bake an additional 15 min. LET IT SIT for approx. 30 min (or else it will be too soupy) and enjoy!
*You can also halve the recipe, which is what I did this time, or make the whole thing and it’s great re-heated as leftovers*