Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Shells

I make menu plans every week, to help me grocery shop and be somewhat organized for the week. But I usually only follow it for a few of the days. We get invited over to eat with family, I get lazy, I forget to buy a key ingredient, life happens. So I just push whatever meals I missed to the next week. These stuffed shells have been on my list for a while, and I have been pretty excited to try them out. They were tasty, got good feedback and I would make them again with a few changes that I have included below.

Veggies and cheese get blended to look like a green smoothie!

That green smoothie looking mixture gets stuffed into al dante jumbo shells

And placed face down into a puddle of marinara sauce

Top with more marinara, add some cheese and cook until bubbly

Yum!

20-25 jumbo shells, cooked al dente

Filling:

1 cup spinach or kale, chopped

1 cup cottage cheese (or ricotta- I just don't keep that around)

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 cup italian style bread crumbs (optional, it just gives it more substance)

1 egg

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp italian seasoning

1/4 mozarella cheese

Sauce:

2 cups seasoned marinara sauce

1 cup shredded veggies (zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, carrots, or a combination)

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (for the top

Mix all sauce ingredients together. Pour 1 cup sauce into 9X13 pan, set aside. In a blender, combine all filling ingredients except mozzarella cheese. Blend until combined, add an extra egg if it is too thick to blend. Mix in mozzarella cheese with a spoon.  Spoon green mixture into shells and close a little before placing face down into pan. Cover shells with remaining sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over shells and place in preheated oven. Cook at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until cheese on top is bubbling. 

Brown Rice Enchiladas with a Black Bean Sauce

So remember my awesome friends who I grew up with? The ones who gave me the best salsa recipe ever and the delicious Black Bean Soup? Well I have yet another wonderful recipe from them. And I don't know the official nutrition facts on this recipe, but I am willing to assume it is at least kind of healthy because everything the Collet's make is healthy.

I made these as part of our "Vegetarian Project" and they got very positive reviews from the boys. A quote from one of them: " I can't believe these don't have meat in them, they taste so good". That is a huge deal, in case you didn't know.

They take a little bit of prep work and a little bit of time, but they are delicious. My only regret is that the pictures didn't turn out any better... Oh well, make them yourself and you can take a better picture for me to use.

RICE ENCHILADAS W/ BLACK BEAN SAUCE

Sauce:

1 can green chiles                                           

1 can black beans, undrained

1 can vegetable broth                    

 ½ c chopped onion

2 cloves garlic                                      

1 bay leaf

3 Tbsp hot sauce

Combine in saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce to a simmer and let simmer 5 minutes. Pour mixture into blender (taking care because it is hot) and process until smooth. Set aside.

Filling:

1 c cottage cheese  

½ c sour cream

½ c feta cheese

Blend in blender.  Then stir in:

¼ c onion                         

1 chopped seeded jalapeno

2 c cooked, brown rice

2 Tbsp hot sauce (optional)

To make:

6 Flour tortillas

¾ cup Monterrey Jack Cheese

Chopped cilantro, to taste

Fill 6 flour tortillas (or 10 corn tortillas) with rice/cheese mixture, roll and place in 9 X 13 dish coated with cooking spray.  Pour about half of the black bean sauce over tortillas; cover and bake at 350 for 25 min.

Uncover, sprinkle with Monterrey Jack cheese.  Bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is bubbling.

Serve warm with cilantro for topping and the rest of the black bean sauce for pouring on top. 

Peanut Butter Bars

I have never been a huge PB bar fan. I mean, they were fine. Just not my favorite. But this recipe converted me. My mother in law made these a couple weeks ago and I think I ate half the pan. I asked for the recipe to use in a cooking group at my work and have made it twice this week now. I learned some valuable things each time I made them. I will share my mistakes with you so that yours are fabulous. 

Mistake #1. Cool the peanut butter bars completely before frosting. Not just not hot. They guys should be cold if possible. Stick it in the fridge or freezer for an hour kind of cold. Otherwise you will get a melted peanut buttery mess. 

Mistake #2 Use smooth peanut butter. I guess if you really love the crunchy variety you can try that. But I really think it messes with the consistency of the bar. Just keep it smooth. The bars pictured here have crunchy PB, but again, I recommend the smooth. 

Mistake #3 Do not overcook! This was even written on the recipe and I still messed up! They seem too underdone after 13 or so minutes and I thought another 5 minutes would just firm them up a bit. Which it did... but it also majorly dried them out. I wouldn't let anyone eat the edges because they were so crumbly and dry. They bars are meant to be so soft and melt in your mouth. So really, don't go over 15 minutes. 

Kayla's Fabulous Peanutbutter Bars

1 ½ cups brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1 ½ cups softened butter

4 eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla

1 cup smooth peanut butter

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

2/3 tsp. salt

3 cups flour

3 cups rolled oats

In a mixing bowl, cream sugars and butter until fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and peanut butter, mix until smooth. Add baking soda, salt, flour and oats and mix until totally incorporated. Spread on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 11-15 minutes. Don’t overbake! They should be barely browned on top. These are meant to be very soft. Let cool completely. Smooth 1/2 cup to 1 cup peanut butter over bars. Spread chocolate frosting on top of peanut butter and enjoy!

Chocolate Frosting

2 ½ cups powdered sugar

¼ tsp salt

¼ cup dry cocoa

1/4 cup white sugar

2 Tbsp water

1 egg

1/2 cup soft butter

Put first three ingredients in a mixer (I love my Bosch). Put ¼ cup of granulated white sugar in mug. Add 2 TB water, and microwave for 60 seconds, until the sugar is fully dissolved and you have a thick syrup. Now timing is everything. Turn on the Bosch, and quickly break one egg into the spinning powdery mess. Quickly pour in the hot syrup. Then throw in a cube (1/2 cup) butter. Then pour in 1 tsp vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and whip until creamy and blended. Spread over peanutbutter bars for a yummy treat! 

Banana Cream Pie Crepes

I love random holidays. Especially the ones involving food. It's like your week's menu was planned out for you by the universe. I mean, once you know March 2nd is Banana Cream Pie Day, how can you not make a Banana Cream Pie?

Except I didn't feel like making a pie crust. So I got creative and made these Banana Cream Pie Crepes. Pretty genius, I know. They were a big hit with the boys (no surprise there when you serve dessert for breakfast). 

And they are super easy. Crepe, sliced banana, vanilla pudding, whipped cream. 

Here is the crepe recipe I used. I liked it. I don't know if it is the very best one out there, but it worked. 

1 cup flour

2 eggs

¾ cup milk

½ cup water

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp melted butter

Combine all wet ingredients, except butter. Sift in flour and salt and whisk until smooth. Add butter.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.

Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Enjoy with any variety of toppings.