All Kinds of Yumm: Italian recipes

Valentine's Day is almost here! I used to be a huge proponent of this day. Back in college, I would go all out. I'd be surprising Tim with chicken biscuits in his car, leaving notes for him that listed every single thing I loved about him, shopping for the perfect outfit on the college-student-budget of $3, and, of course, trying/failing to cook a nice meal.

Fast forward almost 7 years. Now I know that true love isn't found in chicken biscuits or unlimited salad and breadsticks at Olive Garden. It's in Tim waking up at 5:30 am with Judah so I can sleep another hour. And in getting a text that he's bringing home dinner so I don't have to cook {yes, even I hate to cook sometimes}. So we pretty much fast-forward through all the romantic crap and just eat good food. At home. In our sweats. And go to bed early. Because Judah hasn't pooped in three days so he's probably going to be up with gas all night.

Just keepin' it real.

This recipe is inspired by Lauren's Latest, an incredible site with incredible recipes. You've probably seen many of her recipes on Pinterest. I was so excited to try this recipe, but there were a few things I knew wouldn't fly in our house, including goat cheese. Tried it. Hated it. Sorry. Goats are for feeding at the county fair, not for making cheese. But for those of you with much finer taste than I, head over to her site and take a look at the original recipe. #overmyhead

Ingredients:

2 whole red bell peppers 
2 tablespoons olive oil 
2 cloves garlic, minced 
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
4 oz. feta cheese
2/3 cup grated parigiano reggiano cheese 
12 oz. fettucini
1/4 cup shredded Italian cheese {for dusting}
 Salt and pepper

Directions:

First, we're going to pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Toss the red peppers on a non-stick pan and bake for 20-30 minutes.

While that's going on, we're going to start on the sauce.

Sauté the garlic in the olive oil for about 5 minutes.

Pour the heavy cream and milk into the pot.

Grab the feta. Have I ever mentioned how much I love this cheese? Because I do.

Toss it in, too.

Stir for 5-7 minutes on a medium heat until the cheese is melted.

Go ahead and check on the peppers. When they're done, they should be all wrinkly and cute.

Remove the skin, which should be easy to do. It peels right off. Scrape out the seeds and the stem, as well. Chop them up into small slices.

Toss the sliced red peppers and the grated parigiano reggiano cheese  into the pot.

Using an immersion blender, combine the ingredients until creamy. You can get exactly the consistency you want depending on how long you blend it.

I always forget about the pasta. This is my favorite brand of fettucini. And I love this picture because it makes my counters look shiny, which they're totally not.

Cook according to package instructions.

Once that's done, it's time to serve!

Noodles.

Sauce.

Shredded Italian cheese.

Nom nom nom.

Serve with garlic bread and salad, and you'll totally feel the love.

Love and good food,

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It seems to me that there's a really wide-spread misconception about new moms. I truly think that people believe in their heart-of-hearts that a new mom wants to jump on the weight-loss-wagon the minute she leaves the hospital.

 Not true.

 Maybe it's just me. Probably. But the second I was able to eat, I wanted two things: pasta and caffeine-free Coke. I ate ravioli from the hospital cafeteria every day in the hospital. So when I got home and was greeted by a few very healthy meals from a few very well-meaning friends, I was slightly disappointed. Where was my pasta? Did this meal seriously not come with chocolate cake like the one in the hospital did? I tried moving back into the mom/baby ward, but they gave away my suite.

 I don't mean to undermine the meals that were given to us. I so appreciated every single one that passed over the threshold of our home. But deep down, I wanted to eat something hearty. I lost a ton of weight when I first came home from the hospital because I was pumping and actually forgot to eat.

 Guys. I never forget to eat. So when I did, I knew I had to make my meals count.

 I say all this because I made these stuffed shells for a sweet lady in the church who just had her -- count 'em -- fifth child. She's got some crowns in heaven, this I know for sure. Having been in the new baby phase a mere six months ago, I joined the ladies at my church and made her and her family a meal. A hearty one.

 This is actually one of the first things I learned how to make. It's sexy without all the work. Yes, I just called this pasta dish sexy, probably because it's 10:30 pm and I can barely keep my eyes open after a 10 hour day of flying across the country with my 6-month-old. Anyway, because there are kids in the mix, I decided to make half of the dish with spinach and half without. I'm sure this new (again) mom isn't really in the mood to argue over the "green stuff" with her toddlers.

 Note: The pictures shown is for a double batch, but the recipe and instructions are for a single batch. I made a ton since it was a big family.
 

Ingredients:

1 egg
32 oz. container ricotta cheese
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 cups mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup spinach (optional)
1 box stuffed shells
2 26 oz. pasta sauces

Directions:

Let's start with the cheese filling. Crack an egg in a large bowl.

Whisk it up.

I love ricotta cheese. Just had to throw that in there.

Combine the egg and ricotta.

Stir in minced garlic.

Toss in 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and combine.

Throw in one cup of the shredded mozzarella cheese.

You are more than welcome to use fresh spinach, but there's nothing wrong with frozen.

To cook, I combined frozen spinach and a splash of water and microwaved until it was hot. I then put the cooked spinach on a kitchen towel and squeezed out all the liquid.

Mix it into the cheese mixture.

Cook the noodles according to instructions on the package.

Once you've drained the noodles, let them cool for a bit since you have to use your hands.

The stuffing part is super easy. One at a time, open up the cooled shell.

Spoon in 1 tbsp. of the cheese filling into the shell and fold closed.

Do that for all the shells. This does take some time, but not as much as you might think. This huge double-batch took about 15 minutes.

If you happen to have leftover shells (which I did), you can "double up" and use two layered shells. This makes it a little heartier and provides more structure to the pasta.