Stuffed Shells - Two Ways

Have you ever noticed that anything with a red sauce doesn't photograph well? :-)  We love stuffed shells and we have two different ways that we enjoy them.  One is with meat and one is with cheese!  One of the great things about both of these recipes is that they can be made ahead and frozen.  Plus, it is a perfect guest dinner - make a pan of each type and guests can pick what they like or make them up and take them to someone else for dinner. 

First up is the Stuffed Cheese Shells:

Pasta

Stuffed Shells with Cheese

2 dozen large pasta shells

2 teaspoons salt

24 ounces part skim ricotta cheese

¼ cup fine dry bread crumbs, Italian seasoned

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes

1 egg, slightly beaten

Pasta Sauce, jarred or homemade

Cook shells in boiling salted water, following package directions.  Drain in a colander and rinse with cool water.  Set aside.  In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, bread crumbs, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, ¼ teaspoon salt, parsley and egg; mix until well blended.

Cover bottom of 9x13 baking dish with a thin layer of sauce.  Carefully spoon cheese mixture into shells; arrange shells, opening side down, in tomato sauce in pan.  Pour the rest of the sauce over the shells.  Cover tightly with foil and bake at 374 degrees for 30 minutes.  Sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese and remaining ¼ cup Parmesan cheese.  Return stuffed shells to oven and bake, uncovered, 10 to 15 minutes longer.

** This recipe can be cut in half and placed in a 8x8 pan.  

Secondly are the Stuffed Meat Shells: 

Stuffed Pasta Shells

Pasta:

12 to 16 Jumbo pasta shells

Filling:

1 Tablespoon butter                                1 ½ cups spaghetti sauce

1/3 cup chopped onion

½ teaspoon finely chopped garlic

½ pound ground beef

½ pound ground mild Italian Sausage

1/8 teaspoon dried basil leaves

1/8 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

8 ounces Mozzarella cheese, shredded

     Cook shells according to the package directions.  Rinse with hot water; set aside

     Meanwhile, in 10-inch skillet melt butter; add onion and garlic.  Cook over medium heat until tender (3-4 minutes).  Add beef and sausage.  Continue cooking until meat is browned; drain.  Add basil, oregano and 1 cup cheese.  Spread ¾ cup spaghetti sauce on bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish.  Stuff cooked shells with meat mixture; place meat side down in prepared pan.  Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over shells.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Cover pasta with aluminum foil.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.  Remove aluminum foil.  Sprinkle remaining 1 cup cheese over past and sauce.  Continue baking, uncovered, until cheese is melted (4-6 minutes)

** This can also be cut in 1/2 and placed in an 8x8 pan 

To Tell the Truth . . . .

You may remember This Post - the one about church envy.  I thought I would share some recent experiences we've had visiting some churches.  See, after I posted that, I did more digging and we decided to visit a couple of local churches.  I mentioned the long drive we have currently and we happened to come across two churches that are much closer that we figured we would check out.  Summer is a great time for this, for us at least, because we are busy so many weekends that we end up with only 2-3 Sundays where we are available.  My husband plays in a Christian group and they have concerts 1-2 Sundays a month plus we've been other places than home! 

So, most recently (I will leave out all names!) we visited a church that was 16 minutes away.  I kinda pushed for this one because I checked out the website and was so excited with how wonderful the church sounded.  They said they had a mix of worship and traditional music, lots of activities, etc.  I mean, they made it sound perfect.  So, here's rule number one, Church, don't make your church something it isn't by playing it up on the website (to tell the truth . .. )  :-(  It is all traditional . . very traditional, actually.  I kinda have the "Three strikes your out" kind of idea when it comes to trying out churches . . .strike 1) 90% of the church folks were in their . . 80's.  Seriously!!  2) That Fellowship time - you know what I'm talking about, where everyone walks around and shakes hands.  I know you shouldn't say you hate anything about church so I'll just say that I de-test it!!  I don't know who thought it was a good idea, but it is not.  Well, this one lasted for a good 5 minutes, for real.  Even my husband, who is ok with the concept, made a comment about how long this went on.  3) The message - I won't get into it but have you ever sat through a sermon and were actually thinking that you aren't good enough to go to that church? Yep.  Not good!  It's pretty sad when you feel like you wasted an hour of your day . . ..

Prior to that we had attended a church that was 9 minutes away.  It was a church we had looked at years ago but they were without a pastor at the time.  We would have never thought about it except my Ultrasound tech (who became a friend) attends there and invited us to come by for a visit.  I had no real strikes for this church (except for the lady in front of me with dread locks - I keep waiting for the little cartoon worm/bugs to poke their heads out at me - yes, I'm odd like that).  The message was fantastic - I didn't even day dream :-)  The music was pretty good - there was traditional and than a great worship section.  They are just introducing this concept - but it was still a great part of the service.  The people were friendly and there were a lot of young couples.  One thing that is different is that all of the kids (babies too!) stay in the church until the (ready . . wait for it . . ) the fellowship time (ha!)  Than, you take your kids to the nursery.  At first, I was taken aback but than realized, I had just finished reading "Parenting in the Pew" - what better way to start this than by keeping the kids in for like 10 minutes of the service??  I'm really not sure how my 18 month old will do - he is an energizer bunny - but if nothing else, I wouldn't have to sit through the fellowship time!!

So, right now, it will be mid-August before we end up back in a local church - between concerts, a family reunion, and some other special plans.  I'm thinking we may check out the first church again and than we'll decide what we want to do - keep driving the long distance, or maybe aim for something closer - something easier to be involved in and have our kids involved in . . .sometimes change is hard, but sometimes change is needed.  

Tot Time - The Week I really got down to work

This week, I really got my mind wrapped around what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it!  For me, it all starts with planning so here are a couple of snapshots of what I'm doing:

 The first thing I use is this simple planner.  This idea comes from my teaching days - the standard lesson planner.  Each row is for Monday-Friday and the columns are: Circle Time; Bible; 123/ABC's; Reading; Math; Other (Science, SS, ect).  I use this to go through the various sites I'm using to write down the quick reference of what I want to do each day in each "subject"  Basically, this is my brainstorming sheet. 

(I tried numerous times to get this load the right way but Blogger just say no!!"  From there, I write out each weeks "Specifics".  I go day by day and list everything from lyrics to the songs or poems to the items I need to make, print, or purchase.  The last page has the specific purchase items as well as where to purchase it from and the cost so I can plan my budget.   I have accomplished the first 4 weeks of planning on paper and it gets easier each time.  The nice thing is that the base curriculum I'm using has a review week ever 4 weeks so I can do anything on that 4th week that I did not get to during the previous 3 weeks!!   My next goal is to work the next 2 weeks (yep, 2!) and get everything I need made, printed, and purchased so I can than start working on weeks 5-8. 

I also wanted to share a few of the books that my 18 month old is really loving right now! 

The Dr. Suess book was a favorite of both of my boys but my 18 month old just adores it right now.  It has all kinds of textures to play with while reading.  Another favorite is the Book of Opposites - it is just a simple one word on each page but he loves hearing it and can now say many of the words.  We also have Baby's First Animals (shown) and Baby's First Words (non shown).  He loves going page by page and naming all of the pictures (or making the animal sounds)  I also forgot to get a picture of Seven Silly Monkeys - he adores that book!  Nine times out of 10, he will grab one (or all ) of these books for us to read!

Next week I'll post the specific sites I'm using for the various "subjects" and plans. 

That's all for this week!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm Loving . . . that our McMaster family reunion is just a week and a half away!  I'll see family that I haven't seen in 10 years (since the last reunion!) 

I'm Loving . . . that my mom found some great outdoor toys for the boys AND that my parents come over on Saturday to bring them to us.  The boys have so much fun playing in their new "houses". 

I'm Loving  . . . that my husband had a short day on Monday.  He had to work on Saturday so our weekend was very, very short . . .have him home Monday afternoon was a nice bonus.

I'm loving . . . .that Design Star has started - yes another one of THOSE shows that I enjoy.  I used to watch HGTV alot .  .not so much anymore but I still love this show!

I'm loving . .. listening to my boys laugh together.  They are learning to play together and that is wonderful!

What are you loving today? 

What I'm Reading

Welcome to another week of "What I'm Reading".  I'll start out with the books that I finished reading this week.

 The three books by Cindy Woodsmall is a Trilogy based on the life of Hannah Lapp.  She faces the "unspeakable" and through a series of terrible misjudgements of her and by her, she faces difficult choices.  I love how the author develops her character throughout each book yet keeps her grounded in her beliefs.  I truly enjoyed reading each one of these books and would recommend them to anyone.  They are based on the Amish culture (which I love reading about) but don't follow the typical style of many of those stories. 

This was a really quick, but good read.  It is the basic story of love lost, love found that shows how true love can outlast and heal so much.  The funny thing about this book is that I had recently been thinking about the story and could not remember the name of the book.  I just happened to grab this one to read and  . . .it was the exact book I had been thinking about!

Well, I still love Liz Curtis Higgs but . . .well . . I gave up on this book.  My disclaimer is that it is not a "bad" book but it was not a book I could just sit down and read.  The basic way it is set up is that within a chapter, Liz gives a verse that relates to the chapter topic, a short explanation, a snippet from a letter from a reader who struggles with the issue and a short "you can do it" thought . .. . over and over and over again.  It would be a book to use for counseling or just for encouragement - not so much for a "sit down and read me" book. 

Now for what I'm reading:

 I just started this book on Monday and I am hooked.  I really look forward to sharing the author's 120 day concept as I get further into the book.  I sense a challenge coming on - a personal challenge but I will also challenge you as well!!

This is my "fun" book - I'm just picking this one up and it is a re-read but I don't remember anything about it at this point. 

And of course, my two books that I'll be picking up this fall ;-) when I get back into my devotions full swing!:

I promise I'll get back to both of these - I was really enjoying them both a lot!!!

Too Cute Not To Toot!

Welcome to another week of Too Cute Not To Toot!  I'm going to start right out with a . . . .4th of July Idea :-)  Actually, this star idea could be used as a decoration for any party, just change the color of the paper.  Ask Anna gives a very easy tutorial to follow.

Do you have any road trips planned for the summer? Well, check out this idea from Oopsey Daisy.  She has created three differant versions of road bingo!  Such a great idea and something you could use over and over :-)

Do you love the Red, White and Blue buntings that hang on porches during the 4th?  I do . . .except when they are faded and icky HA!  Well, I saw this idea over at Homeroad and thick it would be perfect because it won't fade :-)  I would love to hang one of those on my fence!  She gives a good tutorial but I'm not sure what she means by "wooden walkway" . When I look at it, I think you could possibly use wooden shims and get a similar look (since they are thicker on one end than the other) or you could cut the wood yourself :-)

I saw this idea posted and wanted to share the link.  I don't have a picture to post with it but, Sweet Serendipity shares a bunch of camping with kids ideas that you really should check out if 1) you already camp with your kids or 2) you want to plan a fun back yard camping night with the family or 3) You are taking your first camping trip with the kids!  One idea she gives is how to create magic pine cones - she gives you the "recipe" to create the cones which will burn in pretty colors when you throw them into the fire!  This is just one of many ideas that she has :-)


Here's a simple idea from The prudent pantry to update a knife block.  I love it - and think it will go on my project list for when I finish up my kitchen.  My accent color is red so this is the perfect "what it will look like" picture!

Sunscholars has put together a ton of ideas to create to keep kids busy on trips - they are planning for a long plane trip but these would also work for any type of car trip as well. 

This cute idea for Salad from Home Spun with Love would be perfect for a picnic or a party.  Most times I skip a lettuce salad at a party because there isn't room on the little plate :-)  This would solve that problem!

Here's a twist on the Travel Bingo - this one would be great for older kids because .  . it uses Bubble Wrap.  Check out the idea over at Dukes and Duchesses.

It is week three at So you Think you're crafty and there are some cute ideas - check them all out and vote for your favorite. Can you guess mine?  (here's a clue!)

I saw this idea just as a picture on a blog so I went searching for the source through Pinterest.  I found this tutorial with printables over at Peppermint Creative. It is really a great Valentines Idea for your hubby but you could also use this as a creative gift for a friend and say "52 Reasons why I like You" or even make it a tradition to do this for your kids on their birthday - surely we can think of 52 things throughout the year to write about :-)

Get ready to drool!! Just look at this delicious treat from Six Sister's Stuff.  Now, my husband doesn't like the texture of coconut so, I guess if I make these, I'd have to eat them all :-) hehehe

Keep drooling :-) I design shares a recipe for S'more bars . .. how can you go wrong with a S'more??

 So, I have a photo wall in my house but, when I saw this idea, I just fell in love with it.  It is one of those ideas I'm tucking away to use in my next house (my house has texture walls which don't work well with vinyl!)  Check out the tutorial over at Lil Linu.

This next idea made me think of my friend Tonya.  I can see her doing something like this with boots her girls out grow and the thing is - she would make it look so adorable!!  Check out this idea from Primp.

You can tell it is summer time - there are so many great recipes and this cake takes the . . . cake :-)  A Diamond in the Stuff shared an easy tutorial for a cake that will make everyone think you slaved for hours :-)

Here is a great idea to do with your older kids to keep them entertained!  Ruby Kay shares this great idea for using your junk drawer treasures, some water, and a freezer . . .to entertain your kids for an hour.

This is such an awesome idea to have at the beach - a blanket that is a game:-)  Check out the full tutorial at Polka Dots on Parade.

Enjoy :-) 

Commenting Challenge Wrap-up

Over the past week, I participated in a great challenge from Jenna's Journey.  See, I love reading blogs; I love having being read my blog; I love when people make comments on my blog posts; I love when I see new followers; I seldom comment on other blogs . .. and always forget to click "follow" on my favorite blogs.  Do you see a problem with those statements? HA!  I love things on my blog but don't do it in return! 

Since July 4th, I've visited over 80 new blogs and commented on every single one PLUS somewhere around 80 new people visited my blog and commented too.  It made me smile!  And, did you notice - I'm now up over 50 follows and that makes me so happy too!!! 

In the midst of visiting all of those blogs I also found some new ones that attracted my attention enough to add them to my little "Blogs I follow" list.  I try to keep all of my blog lists and buttons as updated as possible.  If I notice that someone hasn't posted for 6-8 weeks, a lot of times, I remove them from my list.  I don't want to weigh down those lists too much!!  So, yes, the list grew a lot this past week  - take time to click on some and don't forget to comment on the post that caught your attention.  Oh, and comment on mine too!!!! 

Thanks Jenna for hosting this great challenge!!!  I'm not sure how long the "Linky" will be open but you can still find it on her page - check out some of those blogs as well - you may find something that attracts your attention that didn't attract mine!