Sunday, November 24, 2013

Stuffed Macaroni Shells

Lately I've been wanting to try a new stuffed shells recipe. The stuffed shells recipe that I usually make has spinach in it, and I wanted to make one with just cheese. My grandmother gave me a cookbook a few years ago called The Roseto Cuisine Cookbook and it had just what I was looking for.

Stuffed shells require few ingredients and are very easy to make. I use a potato masher to mix the cheeses and eggs. I boil the shells a few minutes less than the package says so they are easier to fill and don't break apart. Then I layer the filled shells on a baking sheet lined with wax paper or plastic wrap and put them in the freezer until they are frozen (it's easier to freeze them in bags after the cheese is already frozen in the shell).

I left only 6 shells out, enough for two night's dinners for me, and put the rest in ziploc bags and froze them for future dinners. I put the shells that I left out in two separate small dishes, opened a small can of tomato sauce and divided it between the two dishes, sprinkled the sauce with a little Italian seasoning, then covered them with foil and baked them. I paired my shells with a salad and focaccia - it was a delicious Sunday dinner!


Cheeses, parsley and eggs


Boiled shells

Stuffed shells

Frozen shells


Top with sauce

Right out of the oven


Photos by JoJo

Updated photos from September 2021:












Red's Amazing M&M'S Cookies

I recently had my sister and a few cousins over for a movie/ice cream sundae night. Afterwards, I had a lot of sundae toppings left over. One of the toppings I had was a bag of Dark Chocolate M&M'S. I didn't want a bunch of candy sitting around, so I decided to make cookies with them. Luckily there was a recipe on the back of the bag so that's what I used. These cookies took no time to make and were a great snack!


Red’s Amazing M&M’S® Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1¾ cups M&M’S® Brand Dark Chocolate Candies

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large bowl, cream butter and both sugars until well blended. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix to combine.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking soda and salt together. Slowly add these ingredients into the butter mixture and stir until combined.

Fold in the M&M’s and chill the dough for 1 hour, or overnight.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto a lightly greased tray, about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 8- 10 minutes for chewy cookies or 12-14 minutes for crispy cookies. Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate M&M'S

Butter & sugars

Add egg & vanilla

Add flour mixture

Stir in M&M'S



Right out of the oven!


Photos by JoJo