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In , , on March 29, 2016 with No Comments

Mexican Stuffed Shells

On my last trip to Stringtown, I stocked up on bulk flours, pasta and spices. One of the things I bought was large pasta shells that are great for stuffing with your favorite fillings. I usually tend to go Italian when I make pasta, but this time I decided to shake things up a bit and go with a Mexican-flavored dish. I found this recipe on The Way to His Heart, and this recipe is a keeper.



It’s super easy to do, and you can prepare everything ahead of time and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake it for dinner. My sons will eat anything that has pasta or anything Mexican inspired, so this dish was a win-win at dinnertime.

mexican stuffed shells 2

 

mexican stuffed shells plated 2

 

 

Mexican Stuffed Shells

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 package low-sodium taco seasoning (I use Wildtree’s taco seasoning as it has no preservatives)

4 ounces cream cheese

18 jumbo-sized pasta shells

1 1/2 cups salsa

1 cup taco sauce

2 cups Mexican-flavored shredded cheese (usually a combination of Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses)

Toppings: green onions, olives, sour cream, shredded lettuce (optional)

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a skillet, brown the ground beef. Drain any fat. Add the taco seasoning according to package directions. Add the cream cheese to the skillet, and cook until the cheese is completely melted and blended well into the meat. Add half of the jar of salsa to the meat and cheese mixture, stirring to completely combine. Set aside and let cool completely.

While the beef is browning, cook pasta shells according to package instructions. Drain. When cool enough to handle, you’re ready to assemble the dish.

Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread the other half of the salsa in the bottom of the baking dish. Fill pasta shells with the cooled meat mixture, and place in the baking dish open side up. Cover the shells with the taco sauce. Cover the baking dish with foil, and bake shells covered for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, uncover the baking dish, and sprinkle the shredded cheese over the tops of the shells. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes without the foil, or until the cheese is melted and golden brown. Serve with toppings of your choice (black olives, green onions, sour cream, lettuce and additional salsa or taco sauce).

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In , , on September 13, 2015 with No Comments

Italian Pasta Salad and Watermelon Peach Salsa

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful fall day here in Iowa. The sky was a gorgeous blue, the humdity was low (finally!), and the bugs were nowhere in sight. Kevin wanted to grill some burgers, so I thought I’d whip up a couple side dishes to go along with.

The boys love my Italian Pasta Salad and tell me I need to make it more often. It’s an easy peasy recipe that’s great to take to potlucks and family reunions. I eyeballed the amount of each ingredient, so you can add more or less to your family’s taste.

I also decided to make a Watermelon Peach Salsa. We have four peach trees, the kind that has the little white peaches, and they are huge this year. I’ve already canned two lugs of peaches, so this was a great way to use up a few more. The recipe called for cilantro, but my family’s not a huge fan, so I omitted it.

 

Italian Pasta Salad

1 package rotiniĀ pasta noodles, cooked per package directions and cooled
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 a medium red onion, diced
1/2 a red bell pepper, diced
1/2 a green bell pepper, diced
1 3.8 ounce can sliced black olives
Half a package of turkey pepperoni (or regular if you prefer), sliced into strips
1 bottle zesty Italian dressing

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Set aside until cool.

In a large bowl, combine the diced onion, diced peppers, black olives and sliced pepperoni. Add the cooled pasta. Pour the Italian dressing over the pasta, and mix until well combined. Refrigerate for several hours to let the flavors meld together.

 

 

Watermelon Peach Salsa

2 cups diced watermelon
2 cups diced fresh peaches
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/2 a green bell pepper, diced
1/2 a red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced
Juice of 1 lime
Fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, and mix well. Refrigerate for several hours to let the flavors marinade together.

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In , on September 5, 2014 with No Comments

Canning 101: Salsa

I can’t believe how many weeks have passed since I last posted–sorry! I have been working hard in the canning kitchen and garden, plus my parents had their 50th wedding anniversary, had an auction AND moved the last part of August —-so, I’ve been a bit busy šŸ™‚ I promise I’ll catch you up on all the goodies I’ve been putting up on the shelves in future posts.

Today, though, it was time to tackle a few more tomatoes, and salsa was the name of the game today. When I first made salsa, I went to the store and bought the Mrs. Wages salsa mix. It wasn’t bad, so I did that for a few years. Then our oldest son Cody decided he wanted to grow hot peppers, so he and I came up with a salsa recipe of our own a few years back. I still follow the base recipe, but (of course) I tweak it here and there depending on what peppers I have available and the flavor of the tomatoes. This year we grew San Marzano tomatoes (a Roma-style tomato that I absolutely love), jalapeno peppers, Anaheim chili peppers, habanero peppers, and some sort of miniature bell pepper plant that I picked up on sale at the grocery store. What the deer didn’t eat (can you believe they LOVED eating my Anaheim peppers?), I managed to salvage for a batch of salsa.

Keep in mind this is a base recipe. Cody and I actually did measure the ingredients that first year we made this, but I always adjust peppers and seasonings to taste each time. This recipe will give you a good base for you to tweak to your family’s liking.

Cody’s Salsa

12 pints paste tomatoes, skinned, cored, and chopped
1-1/2 pints finely chopped onions
3 green bell peppers, seeded and finely chopped
6 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
4 to 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Handful fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1/2 pint cider vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar (optional)
1 to 2 cans tomato paste (will depend how thick you like your salsa)
3 to 4 teaspoons salt (to taste)
*Optional hot peppers (if you like): Anaheim, habanero, cayenne, etc.

Combine all ingredients in a large, nonreactive saucepot. Cook until desired consistency.

 

 

Ladle into hot, sterilized pint canning jars. Seal. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 15 minutes.

 

 

 

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