Today my youngest daughter Rachael, age 21, asked me if I would teach her how to make her favorite meal: stuffed shells. She wanted to ask three of her girlfriends over for dinner here at home and serve them stuffed shells, salad, French bread, and homemade strawberry frozen yogurt. “I need to learn how to cook, Mom,” she said, “and what could be better than me learning to make my favorite food while my friends get a home-cooked meal?” Her point was well taken. We arranged for her to arrive at 3 pm and for her friends to arrive at 6.
First, we made a marinara sauce with sautéed onions and garlic, spices, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, honey, and red wine. Delicious.
Then we made our filling: more sautéed onions and garlic, more spices, then 1 package of frozen spinach added to the onions and garlic. Then we took out a big bowl and poured out a 32 ounce container of ricotta cheese, added lots of grated mozzarella cheese, a generous amount of Parmesan cheese, 2 eggs, and the spinach/onion mixture.
At this point, a big pan of water on the stove was coming to a boil. We added two boxes of pasta shells, waited 9 minutes, then drained them. Perfect al dente pasta!
We stuffed the pasta shells, placed them in a big baking dish over a bit of the marinara sauce we made, and repeated the process until all the shells and the filling were gone. Then we covered all the shells with marinara sauce, followed by both mozzarella and parmesan cheese, then popped it in to a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.
The results: rich, filling and delicious.
Rachael’s friends arrived friendly and hungry. They ate with relish; making quick use of one of the two baking dishes full of stuffed shells.
We sat around the dining room table talking and laughing for 3 ½ hours and every plate was wiped clean before the end of the meal. I guess we can call our cooking lesson and dinner party a resounding success.
I was happy to get to spend time with Rachael’s friends. The girls were open and sweet, just like Rachael. I liked them all very much.
Now I can barely keep my eyes open. I am so ready to hit the sack.
A happy day all round. A happy evening, as well.
Good night, fellow bloggers. It is time to rest now. See you tomorrow.
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