Stuffed Shells – Dinner for Two

On January 20, 2016 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes3 Comments

This is a simple dinner, but that doesn’t make it any less delicious. Despite the cheese, it actually isn’t as decadent as it might sound. As with many meals such as this, leftovers can be even better than it was on the first night. We cheated a little on making our tomato sauce, but you could certainly make the entire thing from scratch. Garlic bread can be an excellent accompaniment to this rich and creamy meal. The nice thing about this meal is that it can be adjusted for a large family or gathering as easily as it was to adjust it for just the two of us. We’ve provided the recipe for our full batch of tomato and meat sauce, but it too could be scaled down if you wanted just enough for the shells. We just prefer to make enough to freeze for spaghetti with meat sauce or other recipes later. It isn’t always easy to find meals that work for a couple or an individual, so these gems are perfect go-to meals when you don’t need to cook for a large group.

Ingredients

1 lb Lean Ground Beef (or ground meat of your choice)
24 oz Jar of Spaghetti Sauce (whatever brand you prefer)
2 – 15 oz Cans of Diced Tomatoes
2 – 15 oz Cans of Tomato Sauce
3 tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 tbsp Oregano
2 1/2 tsp Granulated Garlic Powder
1 tsp Granulated Sugar
14 Large Shells – cooked to package directions
1 and 1/3 cups Ricotta Cheese
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese – shredded
1/4 cup + 1/8 cup Parmesan Cheese – finely shredded
1 Large Egg – beaten
Salt and Pepper to taste

Stuffed Shells with Tomato and Meat Sauce

Instructions

In a large saucepan, add the ground beef, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, salt and pepper. Brown the ground beef over medium-high heat until thoroughly cooked. Add to the saucepan the spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, and the granulated sugar. Stir to combine ingredients, bring to a boil, and simmer for 1 to 3 hours (cooking the day before and letting sit will let the flavors intensify). Cook the shells according to package directions, drain, and let cool to room temperature. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, 2/3 of a cup of mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning, and half of the beaten egg, and mix thoroughly. Pre-heat an oven to 350 degrees. Cover the bottom of a small baking dish with enough tomato and meat sauce to thoroughly cover the bottom of the dish. Stuff each shell with about 3 tablespoons of the cheese mixture, enough to fill each shell without over filling them. Place the shells into the baking dish on top of the sauce mixture. Spoon more of the meat sauce over top of the shells and sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil (spray the bottom of the foil with some cooking spray so that the cheese doesn’t stick). Bake in the oven for 20 minutes and then remove the foil. Cook for another 15 to 20 minutes until the sauce is bubbling. Plate and serve with garlic toast.

Our Take on Shrimp and Grits

On January 13, 2016 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes8 Comments

Over the summer, when we were in Fort Collins, Colorado, we had ordered shrimp and grits at Jax Fish House. It was a special that they were experimenting with and we had talked to the chef about it after our meal, which was very gracious of him. In the spirit of “imitation is the greatest form of flattery”, we decided to do our own variation on their recipe. We found the Tabasco butter to be a little too oily, so we chose to do Hollandaise with a Louisiana pepper sauce instead. The Hollandaise sauce turned out nice because it gave a little bit of a lemon taste to the shrimp, but it still had some heat. We also used some Old Bay Seasoning on the shrimp, a little reminder to our east coast roots. We’re not sure if they used cheese in their grits or not, but who can argue with a little cheese. The centerpiece was the soft-boiled egg that had been fried. We have to admit, trying to replicate that was quite the challenge and took us a couple of tries. In the end, we think we hit the mark, perhaps not the same as the original, but we quite enjoyed it. We hope that you will as well. 🙂

Shrimp and Grits with a Fried Soft Boiled Egg

Ingredients

3/4 cup Quick Grits
3 cups Water
1 cup Whole (or Skim) Milk
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 cup Hollandaise Sauce (Packaged or Homemade)
1 – 3 tbsp Louisiana Pepper Sauce (or Tabasco)
4 Soft Boiled Eggs
1/2 cup Flour
2 Eggs – whisked
1/2 cup Panko (or Bread Crumbs)
2 lbs Large Shrimp
1 – 2 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 tbsp Fresh Parsley – finely chopped
Salt and Pepper

Instructions

This is one of those meals that has a lot of things that have to come together at the same time, but if you do them in the right order, it all comes together quite well. We’ve given the instructions for each of the pieces, but we recommend that you do the steps in a specific order, multitasking whenever possible. First, soft boil the eggs. When the eggs are done, start cooking the grits and bring the oil up to temperature to fry the eggs. While the grits are cooking, prepare the Hollandaise sauce. When the grits are done, start sautéing the shrimp. When the shrimp are done, fry the eggs and then set them aside on a paper towel to dry while you plate the meal.

Fried, Soft Boiled Eggs – For the soft-boiled eggs, bring a small pot of water to a boil and carefully add the 4 eggs to the boiling water, cook for 6 minutes and immediate place the eggs into an ice bath. In a fryer or sauce pan, heat vegetable oil to approximately 350 degrees. Roll the eggs in the flour, then the whisked egg, and the Panko in order to batter them. Carefully place the eggs into the oil and fry for no more than 2 minutes. You may need to roll the eggs over to ensure that they brown evenly.

Cheesy Grits – In a sauce pan, over medium-high heat, add the 3 cups of water plus a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Add the grits and milk to the water, bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for 4 minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Add a pinch of pepper and the cheese, stirring constantly until the cheese has fully melted. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Hollandaise Sauce – Prepare the Hollandaise sauce according to the package or directions and then add the pepper sauce (adding more or less to your desired heat), stirring to mix completely.

Sautéed Shrimp – In a large skillet, add the oil and butter and heat on medium heat until the pan is hot. Add the shrimp and Old Bay Seasoning and cook until the shrimp are pink and translucent, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side. Once cool enough to handle, remove the shells and set aside.

To plate the meal, place the desired amount of grits on the center of the plate, add 1/4 of the shrimp to the grits. Cut one of the eggs in half and place on the grits. Pour Hollandaise sauce around the grits (and over top of the shrimp, if you’d like). Sprinkle with parsley and a little Old Bay Seasoning. Makes 4 servings.

Our Fondue Tradition

On January 6, 2016 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes9 Comments

When the kids were growing up, we started the tradition to fondue on New Year’s Eve and watch a marathon of movies. We would pick movies that had multiple movies in the series like Harry Potter, The Pirates of the Caribbean, Jason Bourne, Lord of the Rings, Batman, Ocean’s 13, etc. Whatever the movie, it was about being together as a family and eating a meal that was a shared experience.

Our children have all grown up and moved onto their own lives, but we continue to spend our New Year’s Eve eating fondue and watching movies until about an hour before midnight. We do a peanut oil fondue with steak, chicken, mushrooms, and green peppers (we used to do hot dogs when the kids were younger). Then we do our family curry sauce, chutney, and béarnaise sauce for dipping. Although we love a good cheese or chocolate fondue, this is a perfect fondue for creating a hearty meal, especially when needing to offset all of the glasses of wine that lead up to our midnight toast.

Our New Year’s Day tradition is pork and sauerkraut, which is a Pennsylvania Dutch tradition that is meant to provide good luck throughout the coming year. It works out really well since it is a slow cooker meal and we are usually moving a little slower after New Year’s Eve. We’ve decided to share with you our curry fondue sauce recipe, which is obviously simple and can be used with other meals besides fondue.

Ingredients

1 cup Mayonnaise
3 tbsp Whole Milk (Skim can be used to lower the fat and calories)
4 – 5 tsp Curry Powder
1/2 tsp Tabasco Sauce

Instructions

In a medium size bowl, combine mayonnaise, milk, curry powder, and tabasco sauce. Whisk together and chill for 30 minutes. If it is too thick, simply add a dash more of milk and stir.