Better Than Usual Stuffed Shells

It is officially time for maternity leave. “I’ll be back”. In the meantime, I have a few goodies to share out here in the blog-o-sphere until I come back. Enjoy!

I made stuffed shells before, but this time I made them better. Plus, I was stocking my freezer for newborn-time and planned to make these. They were great and such a freezer friendly food. They’re so much quicker than lasagna and I used one of my favorite secret ingredients.
The Three Bite Rule - Better Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:

1 pound jumbo shells
2 cups marinara sauce
1 egg
16 oz ricotta cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 pkg frozen creamed spinach
8 oz shredded mozzarella
1/3 cup fresh mozzarella (optional)

Directions:

Boil salted water for the shells. Cook until al dente as they’ll cook more when it bakes.
Mix together the ricotta, creamed spinach, and egg. Then add in the parmesan.
The Three Bite Rule - Better Stuffed Shells
Spread some marinara onto the bottom of a baking dish, first sprayed with non-stick spray.
Scoop some ricotta filling and spoon into each shell. Repeat to fill all the shells.
The Three Bite Rule - Better Stuffed Shells
Overlap as needed, or bake into multiple pans.
Spoon on some more marinara and chopped fresh mozzarella for each layer.
The Three Bite Rule - Better Stuffed Shells
Sprinkle shredded mozzarella onto the top and freeze (or bake to serve now).
The Three Bite Rule - Better Stuffed Shells
Keeps well in the freezer for 4-6 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then bake at 375-degrees for 45-60 minutes. If baking from frozen, bake about 80 minutes, or until warmed through.

The Three Bite Rule - Better Stuffed Shells
Needless to say, I loved the spinach in here. It would be a good source for whatever veggies you have to add (fresh chopped spinach, artichoke hearts, chopped sauteed zucchini, tomato chunks, etc) or with a meat sauce (or meatballs on the side, with crumbled Italian sausage sprinkled in, etc).

I made 2 dishes of this and reminded myself the baking instructions to eliminate all brainpower needed.

Ham and Cheese Rolled Rosetti

Now is when I should be sharing the deliciousness from my lovely baby shower. Somehow I didn’t take a single photo. I brought my camera and didn’t get photos of people OR of food. #amature It was really wonderful. I loved every minute. It was so nice to be surrounded, and supported by everyone. My mom made my favorites: punch; her caesar dressing; 2 quiches with eggs from their hens; pasta with optional baked shrimp (not optional for me!); brownies from scratch; real cheesecake with 2 topping options; butterscotch cookies shaped into ducks to take home. Yum. Loved it. Loved every minute and felt so loved. I can’t believe I didn’t take any photos with people!

Instead I do have a fun dinner to share. I saw these “rosetti” rolled lasagna on a Diners Drive-Ins, and Dives episode and thought it sounded so fun! Now, would be a good spot for the link but I can’t find it online. Pasta looking like roses? How cool is that?!?! I liked that it wasn’t traditional lasagna fillings either. It seemed like a good weeknight meal. Spoiler alert: it took a little bit longer to assemble than I planned. Easy and do-able but give yourself more wiggle room than I did!

Rosetti Ham & Cheese Rolls - The Three Bite Rule

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of curly lasagna noodles
1 1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 1/2 cup alfredo sauce
1/4 pound ham
1/4 pound fontina cheese

Directions:

Bring salted water to a boil for the pasta.
Warm the tomato and alfredo sauce together over low heat.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Cook the pasta according to the package, being careful not to overcook.
Chop the ham and cheese.
Lay out the pasta and top with ham and cheese.
Rosetti Ham & Cheese Rolls - The Three Bite Rule
Roll up each piece.
Rosetti Ham & Cheese Rolls - The Three Bite Rule
Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray.
Slice each roll in half.
Rosetti Ham & Cheese Rolls - The Three Bite Rule
Stand up each piece with the flat edge down into the dish.
Rosetti Ham & Cheese Rolls - The Three Bite Rule
Spoon sauce over the top.
Rosetti Ham & Cheese Rolls - The Three Bite Rule
Bake for 15 minutes.
Then broil for 5 minutes.
Rosetti Ham & Cheese Rolls - The Three Bite Rule
Reduce heat to 350 and top with the rest of the cheese. Bake until the cheese melts.
Rosetti Ham & Cheese Rolls - The Three Bite Rule
I loved this. It was cheesy and lightly tomato-y. I’ve made lasagna rolls which felt like a pain with no benefit. These were fun and really easy. I liked that the flavors were different and it didn’t take hours to make. The assembly didn’t really take too long but I didn’t have everything chopped and ready for when the pasta was ready. Don’t be like me…it isn’t that much to chop.

Pumpkin Mac & Cheese with Gouda & Brown Butter Sauce

I wanted to spread out the pumpkin goodies. Sometimes it gets overdone when November is jam-packed with only pumpkin baked goods, drinks, and goodies. I also wanted some great cheese in there.

The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

1/2 stick of butter
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup milk
1/2 pound pasta (I used penne)
1 cup shredded gouda
1 1/2 cup pumpkin
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or a mix of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg)
1 cup shredded Monterey jack
1/2 stick of butter
2/3 cup of breadcrumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat until it foams, and then starts to brown.
Add in the flour and stir well as it forms a paste. Then add in the milk and cook for another 2 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Mac & Cheese
Cook the pasta until al dente.
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
Add in the grated gouda and pumpkin.
Drain the pasta and mix together with the sauce, and jack cheese.
The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Mac & Cheese
Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray and spoon in the pumpkin mac and cheese.
The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Mac & Cheese
Melt butter and mix in the breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.
Top with the crumb topping and bake for 20 minutes. Broil the last 2 minutes if it hasn’t browned enough.
The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Mac & Cheese
This was subtly pumpkin but had great fall flavors that were far enough away from everyday mac & cheese to feel fun. The brown butter sauce added a nuttiness and the parmesan on top was a good salt component.

I had more sauce than the quantities above so I froze the rest. Someday it’ll be insta-pumpkin-mac. It was pretty thick and I may add some chicken stock to thin it out a bit. That helps mac & cheese have real flavor without being milky without highlighting the cheese.

The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

Sundried Tomato Pasta with Chicken

Let’s talk about this one-pot wonder. I hadn’t marinated the chicken and was afraid it wouldn’t have enough flavor. News flash: it was flavorful and juicy and the pre-made sundried tomato pesto kicked the sauce onto a whole other level.

The Three Bite Rule - Sundried Tomato Pasta with Chicken
I don’t blog pasta too often because it is more of a go-to for an unplanned meal for me but this was so good as were the leftovers! The chicken was the perfect reminder that even without any advance prep, dinner can be ready really easily.

Ingredients: (makes 5-6 servings)

6 chicken tenders
2 tbs Italian seasoning
1 1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup sundried tomato pesto
1 tbs chopped garlic
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 box pasta
salt & pepper

Directions:

Season the chicken tenders.
In a large pan, cook the chicken over medium heat for ~10 minutes with a drizzle of olive oil. Flipping regularly to cook through.
The Three Bite Rule - Sundried Tomato Pasta with Chicken
Remove the chicken from the pan, and slice the chicken into small pieces.
Add the tomato sauce, sundried tomato pesto, garlic
The Three Bite Rule - Sundried Tomato Pasta with Chicken
Mix well, add in the water, cream, and the pasta.
The Three Bite Rule - Sundried Tomato Pasta with Chicken
Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
Stir and add the chicken back in.
Cook another 3-5 minutes (or until the pasta is cooked to your liking).

The Three Bite Rule - Sundried Tomato Pasta with Chicken
I liked the tweak on regular tomato pasta for this. The sundried tomato pasta is a fun condiment to have on hand and is easier than chopping sundried tomato pieces. It was toned down a bit with the tomato sauce. It was so good and would be good without the chicken.

Roasted Red Pepper Romanesco Sauce

The last time we ordered pizza our specialty pie had roasted red peppers on it. It made me think, woah, that’s an ingredient I guess I assumed Mr. J wasn’t into, annnnnd it is a veggie I don’t use often. That was all about to change.

I was aided when I scored 3 red peppers in the clearance produce for $0.68. Insane! The peppers were fine if used in about 5-7 days. They weren’t squishy or shriveled at all.

The Three Bite Rule - Romanesco Sauce

Ingredients:

(sauce yields 4+ servings)
3 red bell peppers (or double the jarred roasted red peppers)
2 medium tomatoes
1/2 jar roasted red peppers
2 tbs minced garlic
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts or toasted walnuts
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tbs lemon juice
3-4 tbs olive oil
2 tsp heavy cream (optional)
pasta

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400-degrees.
Half the tomatoes and fresh red peppers. Brush or drizzle with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes.
Flip once and bake another 10 minutes.
Remove and put into a plastic bag, or cover with plastic wrap for 5 minutes then release the steam and pull off the skin.
In a food processor, blend all the red peppers, tomatoes, garlic, parmesan cheese, nuts, lemon juice, and olive oil.
The Three Bite Rule - Romanesco Sauce
Blend 30 seconds to a minute.
The Three Bite Rule - Romanesco Sauce
Bring salted water to boil for the pasta.
Scoop out the sauce in a large skillet over medium low heat. Add cream, or some starchy pasta water.
The Three Bite Rule - Romanesco Sauce
Toss the pasta with the sauce.
The Three Bite Rule - Romanesco Sauce
I liked this a lot. It had a great flavor to make dinner feel a bit different. The sauce was thick and a bit textured (from the nuts). I love sauce so it was great to me, or you can blend more for a more silky sauce that would stick to the pasta a bit less.

I think the sauce has great potential for a ton of uses. It would be good on a sandwich, panini, or wrap. I’d like it on pizza too. It would definitely be a fun twist on bruschetta.