Stuff Shells with Organic Turkey Sauce

I love making dinner for my friends and family but most of the time I get stuck in the kitchen cooking and not enjoying their company. I like this recipe because I can make it ahead of time and pop it in the oven for 45 minutes before I want to serve it.

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Stuff Shells with Organic Turkey Sauce

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Difficulty: medium
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Ingredients for sauce:

  • 1 package of organic dark ground turkey meat
  • 1 handful of fresh basil (chopped)
  • 1 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped)
  • 1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
  • 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
  • 1/2 sweet onion (chopped)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • Salt and Pepper

Directions:

  • In a large pot add olive oil, onions and garlic. Cook until translucent.
  • Add ground turkey and cook until no longer pink
  • In a food processor, pulse meat into smaller chunks and return back to pan
  • Add basil, parsley and tomatoes
  • Cook on simmer for 30-40 minutes
  • Add salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for pasta filling:

  • 1 box of large shell pasta
  • 2 handful of spinach (chopped)
  • 1 handful of fresh parsley (chopped)
  • 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup fresh mozzarella cheese (grated)
  • 1 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
  • 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt and Pepper

Directions:

  • In a large pot boil water and add salt
  • Cook pasta until al dente
  • Remove pasta and place on a cookie sheet to cool
  • In a pan, cook the garlic and spinach together until wilted. Set aside to cool
  • In a medium bowl mix together ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, parsley, salt and pepper and nutmeg
  • Add spinach and garlic and mix well
  • Stuff each shell with the mixture
  • In a rectangle casserole dish, add half the sauce on the bottom and line up the stuffed shells
  • Top with remaining sauce and cover with foil
  • Bake for 45 minutes

 

 

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Cheesy Potato Casserole

I’ve been making this dish for almost 25 years. To all my healthy eaters out there, this is not a dish you would admit to eating but it could be your dirty little secret to enjoy. This is my go to dish for any potluck, holiday meal or a side dish to a great steak. The most important thing to remember is to use high quality cheese. Don’t skimp and use cheap cheese! You can use whatever flavor combination you like it doesn’t have to be what I used.

Cheesy Potato Casserole

  • Servings: 8-10
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs (bags) of refrigerated hash browns (you can find these typically next to the eggs in the grocery store. If you can only find frozen, let them thaw first)
  • 1/2 stick of good quality butter
  • 1/2 sweet onion (chopped up)
  • 2 tablespoons of chives (chopped up)
  • 1 pint of organic sour cream (don’t use light)
  • 1 cup of sharp good quality cheddar cheese (shredded)
  • 1 cup of gouda cheese (shredded)
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (shredded)
  • 1/2 cup Jarlsberg cheese (shredded)
  • 1/2 cup of Le Gruyere cheese (shredded)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 can of campbell’s cream of mushroom soup (you can use cream of chicken if you want)
  • 1/2 bag of any plain potato chips (crushed)

Directions:

  • Preheat the oven to 400
  • Spray casserole dish with non stick oil
  • In a medium pan heat the butter and onions together and cook until soft
  • Add mushroom soup and mix well
  • Add all cheese and mix well
  • Add sour cream and mix well
  • Add salt and pepper
  • Add chives
  • In a casserole dish dump the hash browns in and mix in the cheesy mixture
  • Mix well and pat down into pan
  • Top with potato chips
  • Bake for 1 hour until golden brown and hot

Mix butter with onions
Mix butter with onions

Add soup
Add soup

Add cheese
Add cheese

Add sour cream
Add sour cream

Hash Browns
Hash Browns

mix well
Mix well

Pat down mixture
Pat down mixture

Add potato chips
Add potato chips