Jumbo Stuffed Shells

Ever have one of those days when you're in a bad mood for absolutely no legitimate reason?  Seriously, I was in a bad mood for an entire day and for the life of me - I could NOT figure out why.  I think that I actually got even more frustrated as the day when on because I didn't know why I was in such a bad mood.  (Ugggg)

So what do you do to pull yourself out of a bad mood?  For me - the cure for a bad mood is to spend time in the kitchen.  Baking something yummy almost always pulls me out of my funk.  About 4:00 that afternoon, it finally dawned on me that I hadn't spent much time in my kitchen in the last 24 hours.  (Light bulb moment - maybe THAT was the reason that I was in such a bad mood - I was going through kitchen withdrawal!)

Time in the kitchen is exactly what I needed to get me out of my foul mood.  I turned on some groovy music, started making dinner and like magic, I started to feel better.  By the time the kids got home from practice and Ben got home from work, I was a happy girl again.  (Funny how that works every time isn't it?)

This is what I made for dinner on that fateful night.  I modified the recipe from a Taste of Home magazine.

Jumbo Stuffed Shells
36 jumbo pasta shells
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 medium zucchini, shredded and squeezed dry
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups Italian blend cheese, shredded
1 egg
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning  (I used half basil and half oregano.)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
24 ounce jar spaghetti sauce

Cook shells according to package directions. 

Heat oil in skillet and cook onion and zucchini until tender.

Combine ricotta, 1 1/2 cup cheeses, egg and seasonings.







Add vegetables to cheese mixture.

Pour 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of a 9x 13 dish.  (I divided my recipe in half and baked it in 2 separate 8 inch square pans so I could make 2 meals out of it instead of one.)





Fill pasta shells with filling and place on top of sauce in dish.

Spread remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

 Bake 40 minutes at 350.

 Serve with whole grain bread and the vegetable of your choice.

They're not so pretty to look at but they were awfully yummy to eat.  Sometimes the best meals are the least attractive.  Oh well, what really matters is that they were delicious AND my family gobbled them up.  Win -win.

 Ciao!

Ritz Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was discussing chocolate chip cookies with Ryan the other day and he was absolutely amazed at the fact that I had made 17 different kinds of chocolate chip cookies.  (By the way, if you want to check out some of my other chocolate chip cookie recipes, you can check out that blog post here.)  To be honest, it's also surprising to me that there are so many versions of the same recipe.  Simple modifications in the amount of fats, eggs or dry ingredients can make a big difference in the results.

Handletheheat.com did a great comparison between chocolate chip cookies by just altering the sugar and leavening ingredients. 

That is really just the beginning.  You can adjust the texture of the cookies by changing the amount and type of fats that you add to the batter.  You can also change the results by adding cornstarch (for cakey cookies) or using cake flour instead of all purpose flour.  I won't even begin to discuss the effects that baking pans and baking mats have on cookie results.









I am really temped to do a similar experiment to what handletheheat did but the problem is - I would eat them all!  It's nearly impossible to make 17 batches of chocolate chip cookies without picking up a few tips along the way.  I am going to pass along my suggestions for the very best chocolate chip cookies - regardless of whether you like chewy or cakey or crispy cookies.








1.  Use room temperature butter and make sure that you cream the butter and sugar REALLY well. 
2.  Use the very best chocolate chips that you can find.  (I like Trader Joe's semi sweet chips and Ghiradelli bittersweet chips.)
3.  Scoop the dough BEFORE you chill it.  (Otherwise, your hand is going to be sore.)
4.  ALWAYS chill the cookie dough before you bake it.   (1 hour minimum but overnight is preferred.)
5.  Only bake the number of cookies that you will eat in 24 hours.  Store the rest of the dough in the freezer so you can bake them fresh. 

Ritz Carlton Chocolate Chip Cookies (I cut the recipe in half.)

1 1/4 pounds unsalted butter (5 sticks), room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups dark brown sugar
5 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
6 cups flour
4 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
 
Preheat oven to 350°
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
 

Add eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated.

Stir the dry ingredients in (baking soda, salt and flour) until evenly combined.

Add the chocolate chips.
 

Scoop batter onto baking sheet.  Chill dough at least 1 hour.







Transfer 6 cookies at a time to a separate baking sheet and bake 10-12 minutes until edges are golden and centers are almost set.

Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

So there you have it - another recipe for chocolate chip cookies. 

 Enjoy.

Ciao!

Sweet Apple Chips

Anyone remember my apple chip fail from last Fall?







I desperately wanted to make some nice crispy little chips out of my freshly picked apples but it was kind of a disaster.  The apple slices never got crispy and I ended up with soggy, chewy disks.  They were tasty but they certainly weren't CHIPS. 

Well, I'm at it again.  We will call this apple chips - attempt #2.
Slice apples on a mandolin. 

Bring 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar to a boil.
Add apples and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.


Use tongs to transfer apples from syrup to a greased wire rack set over a cookie sheet.

Bake 10 minutes at 350.

Remove from rack and put into a bowl.  Chips will crisp as they cool.

These are soooo good.

Apparently, the key to getting nice CRISPY apple chips is SUGAR!  These apples chips are so good that I ate mine in less than 24 hours. I put them in a little bowl on the counter and by the end of the day, I had eaten the entire bowl full of chips. They're super sweet and crispy and crunchy and delicious.

These were supposed to be the decoration on top of my caramel apple tarts but unfortunately - I ate them all!   Just picture one of these little chips on top of an apple tart, a slice of warm apple pie or sitting beside a mug of steaming hot cider. I love these little apple chips - I think I've finally solve the apple chip dilemma. (I can sleep a little better tonight.)

Ciao!