I'm Stuffed.

This is one of my favorite comfort dishes. Stuffed shells are so easy to make and are so filling. They also freeze really well, so if you make a big batch of these, you can tuck them away for another night. This is my mom's recipe, but I adapted it a bit to use some of the stuff I had around the kitchen. We used a spicy pork sausage, so it has a bit of a bite. I also decided to throw in some leftover pesto sauce from pizza night. It's also nice to add some fresh chopped parsley if you have it on hand, I didn't so I left it out. For my vegetarians out there, this recipe can easily be made without the sausage as well. One more note, I thought I would be economical and buy the really cheap pasta shells from Fry's. Don't do this. I opened the box and about half of the shells were already cracked, and after cooking them, another quarter were stuck together and ripped apart. Just buy the good quality shells to make sure they are fit for stuffing.

Spinach Cheese Stuffed Shells
adapted from Mama A

• 1 box jumbo shells
• 1 package pork sausage (mild or hot)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 small container of ricotta cheese
• 1 small box of chopped frozen spinach, defrosted and drained
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 3 Tbsp pesto sauce
• 1 bottle spaghetti sauce (any flavor)

Prepare the pasta shells and set aside. In a pan cook the pork sausage and add the onions. Drain the fat and cool a little. Mix the spinach, ricotta, egg, parmesan, nutmeg, and pesto. Mix in the meat and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a casserole dish, spread some spaghetti sauce on the bottom. Stuff the shells with the filling and arrange in the casserole dish. Pour the rest of the sauce on top and sprinkle some more parmesan cheese. Place in oven to cook for about 30 minutes.

Hello October!

Tomorrow is the start of October and that means it's pumpkin season. For the past few years, I have always celebrated with some of my favorite cookies. I look forward to this time all year. Technically, I could make these cookies any day of the year, but for some reason they taste so much better during October. Ideally, I would be able to look out my window and see the leaves changing and feel the brisk, crisp air blowing. Well, I live in Tucson. Today, the last day of September, it was a blistering 103 degrees and we don't have trees with real leaves that could ever change color. It doesn't feel or look like Fall outside, but inside it smells like pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I feel like making a hot cup of tea and bundling up in a big blanket. Too bad the AC is on full blast and at 8:30 at night, it is still 93 degrees outside. Regardless, I can still pretend like it's changing seasons and eat these yummy cookies.

I need to give credit to my good friend Ashley for these cookies. This recipe is from her and they have been one of my favorites. I made these last year and was cleaned out by my other med students. The frosting recipe is by Paula Dean and is by far the best cream cheese frosting I have ever had. I don't like frosting very much, but I could eat this stuff plain by the spoonful. These are so soft and just the right about of sweetness. These are one of the best parts of October.

Ashely's Pumpkin Cookies

• 1/2 c. shortening
• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 c. canned pumpkin
• 2 1/2 c. flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the shortening and sugar. Add the egg and mix. Add the pumpkin and mix. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg). Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix. Dough will be thick.

Drop by teaspoons onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned. Frost when cool.

Paula's Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 lb (16 oz.) cream cheese, softened
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 c. confectioners sugar

Beat together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla. Slowly add the confectioners sugar on low speed and beat until incorporated. Increase speed to high and mix until light and fluffy.

Gourmet Pizza Time!

When you have a bunch of veggies you need to get rid of, a pizza is always a great idea. I am not a huge fan of red pizza sauce, so I prefer a white or pesto pizza. We got another bag of arugula this week from CSA and I'm tired of making Pecorino and Pepper Pasta. I searched on Tastespotting for some ideas for arugula and I decided to put it on a pizza. It has such a great flavor and brings in a nice peppery bite. I thought it would pair well with salty prosciutto and sweet caramelized onions. This pizza was, to say the least, beautiful. The bright green arugula, pink prosciutto, and white shaved parmesan made the pizza look great. The only downside was that the pesto made the pizza very oily. I bought the refrigerated small plastic tub from Trader Joe's. It's a great pesto sauce, but if I did it again, I would either use less or try to squeeze out some of the oil before spreading it on the dough. This pizza turned out wonderful and puts any gourmet pizza from Sauce to shame.

Arugula, Prosciutto, Caramelized Onions, and Shaved Parmesan Pizza

• Pre-baked pizza dough (I like to use the refrigerated bags from Trader Joe's)
• 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• Pesto sauce (Store bought or make your own)
• Fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 1 package of prosciutto (about 4 oz), sliced into strips
• 1 1/2 c. fresh arugula, stems removed and coarsely ripped
• Shaved parmesan cheese

To prepare the caramelized onions, heat the olive oil in a small saute pan. Add the sliced onions, salt, and sugar and stir until the onions are soft and have a nice brown, caramel color. This will take about 20-30 minutes. 

Preheat the oven according to the pizza dough packaging, I set my oven to 450 degrees.

On the pre-baked pizza dough, spread the pesto sauce and leave a 1/2 inch crust. Place one layer of the sliced mozzarella on the pizza and sprinkle the caramelized onions on top. Lay about half of the prosciutto on the pizza and put in the oven for 10 minutes or until the crust is finished baking.

Remove from the oven and turn the oven off. Cover the pizza with the arugula. Take the remaining prosciutto strips and twirl them into mounds and place on the pizza. Sprinkle the shaved parmesan on top. 

Place the pizza back in the turned off oven for one minute to allow the arugula to to wilt a bit. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with a little more of the shaved parmesan. 

Cut, serve, and enjoy!