Special Instructions: Creates 8 individual “Stacked” Shells, Perfect as a hearty appetizer to share or as an entree.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Prepare pasta according to package directions. Cook until al dente, drain and set aside.
Brown ground beef in a large pot over medium heat.
Once beef is browned, add in garlic, celery, carrots, wine and cream and mix well.
Continue cooking and mixing for approximately 15 minutes or until celery and carrots have softened and liquids have reduced.
Lightly salt and pepper to taste, then remove from heat.
Combine beef mixture with pasta in a large mixing bowl.
Add in cheeses and eggs and mix ingredients well.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper and lay baking rings on top.
Lightly spray the insides of the baking rings to prevent sticking.
Evenly divide cheese/beef/pasta mixture into the 8 rings and gently press down to create flat-top surfaces.
Bake for 25 minutes, remove from oven and let cool for about 3-5 minutes before serving.
Run a sharp knife along the inside of each ring to release pasta “stack”.

About Me: I creatively cook, often not following a recipe but just “winging it” and creating based on whatever is left in the fridge or pantry or whatever I’m feeling at the moment. My goal is to inspire people to cook in their kitchens and take a chance — be creative and try something new.

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From the original site: As you could probably tell by now, I love easy recipes. The easier, the quicker – the better. This is one of my go-to recipes when I’m feeling lazy. My dad, Papa Gastro was the one who taught me this recipe. I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing! I don’t steam the bok choy because 1) it takes too much of the nutrients out of it and 2) it gets kind of steamed in the wok/frying pan.

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From the original site: A tradition in my husband’s family for as long as I have known him. It is a bread pocket filled with meat and cabbage. So here is his recipe and it does make a lot, 18 servings:

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You can make it with pasta from a store but it’s more tender and delish if you cook it yourself.

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But those bags of meatballs from the grocery store freezer (or even from Ikea!) can get expensive, and more importantly, you don’t really know what all is in them.  So if you’re also making an effort to get one more ‘pre-packaged’ items out of your life, here’s a method for simply making and pre-cooking your own version of those little pre-packaged meatballs!

These can be made with turkey, beef, pork or any combination of ground meats.  For this I just used a pound of ground beef.  And I would expect most meatball recipes would work for this, but below is a simple meatball method that I’ve used.

Oven-Baked Mini Meatballs – Frozen!

Preheat your oven to 400 F.

Pour 1/3 to 1/2 cup breadcrumbs* into a large bowl, and add milk until you have a moist, pasty consistency.  Stir in 1 lb ground meat.  Season as desired (I like to add at least a few healthy shakes of salt and pepper, but you can also add dried herbs like thyme or oregano, garlic or onion powder, or whatever floats your boat) and stir well.

Here’s my set-up for efficient meatball cooking: Line a cookie sheet with foil, and place a cooling rack on top. The foil protects the pan and makes cleanup easy.  The rack keeps your balls round, and also lets any grease drip down away from the balls.

Make 1/2 ounce balls (weigh with your kitchen scale until you get a good feel for how big that is–consistent size is important) rolling them between your hands to get a decent ball shape.

Place evenly spaced on your cooling rack, balls should not be touching.  Cook in a 400 degree oven for ~15 min, or until meatballs are fully cooked.

Remove from oven and allow to cool on the countertop.  When cool, move the pan and rack to the freezer.  Leave for at least 30 minutes – 1 hr.  (Freezing the balls separated like this keeps them from sticking together later.)

Remove frozen meatballs, and place in a dated and labeled ziptop freezer bag. (Hint: Remove as much as as possible by using a straw to suck out the excess air!)

Now you have healthy, tasty meatballs, ready in a jiffy for family dinner nights and picky kids!  It’s a little time consuming up front, but I’ll do something like this in the evening after the kid’s in bed, letting them cook and cool and pre-freeze while we’re watching TV or hanging out on the computer.

What do you like to freeze ahead of time for easy cooking later?

*(I make my own breadcrumbs when I have a few pieces of good stale bread, and just keep adding them to one of those convenient storebought bread crumb containers!)

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Here’s what you’ll need:

1 red onion

2 cloves garlic

3 carrots cuts into 1/2″ pieces

3 stalks of celery cut into 1/2 pieces

2 pounds stew beef cut into 1″ cubes

2 1/2 cups good quality red wine (I used a Merlot)

1 cup of water or beef stock

8 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 tablespoon dry thyme.

3 medium tomatoes, halved (or one small can of diced red tomatoes, drained of most their juices)

1/4 cup of flour

Salt and Pepper to taste.

To Make:

Lightly dredge the beef in the flour

In a hot dutch oven add a tablespoon of oil.  Once the oil is hot add the meat and brown well on all sides.  Remove the beef and add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic to the pot.  Allow them to cook until the onions are slightly softened.  Add the thyme, salt, pepper and wine.  Simmer until the beef is fall apart tender and the stew is thick.  Serve over creamy polenta or with garlic bread and a salad.

This also cooks well in the slow cooker, after browning the meat, add all ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on low 6-8 hours.

I put this in my slowcooker before I left for work this morning and my husband had a bowl for lunch.  The picture is courtesy of him and his I-Phone.

Please note the placement of the thyme stem.  I told him that part could to be tossed but he insisted he like the artistic quality it lent to the picture. :)

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