Cheese and Nut Stuffed Shells...

Well, I'm back to giving a vegetarian option a shot.  I do that once in a blue moon.  And once in a blue moon out of THOSE blue moons, I actually don't miss the meat.  I have a feeling this is gonna be one of those times :)  I found this on...drumroll please...Pinterest.  I know, I know.  Shocking, isn't it?  I've never made stuffed shells, because I always thought it sounded like a major pain in the butt.  In reality, it was an extra step, but it really wasn't all that much hassle...I'd deal with it again if this winds up tasting as good as it looks :)  The original recipe for these stuffed shells can be found at Better Homes and Gardens.  Here goes:

Cheese and Nut Stuffed Shells
6 servings - 549 calories each

Ingredients
24 dry jumbo pasta shells (make a few extra, in case some tear when you're cooking them)
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 - 15oz. tub ricotta
1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella
1 c. shredded parmesan
1 c. walnuts
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
Seasonings, to taste
1 - 26 oz. jar pasta sauce (I used a Vodka sauce...yum!)

Directions
Cook shells according to package directions.  When shells are done, drain, rinse in cold water, and set aside.  In a separate bowl, mix eggs, ricotta, 1 c. mozzarella, 3/4 c. parmesan, walnuts, and seasonings.  In the bottom of a 9x13" pan, pour about 1 c. of the pasta sauce.  Fill each shell with a heaping tablespoon of filling, and then place in pan.  Pour remaining sauce over shells, and top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, uncovering for the last 5-10 minutes.  This looks soooo good...can't wait to actually have some.  I'll make sure to let you know how it turns out when I do the recipe update in a couple weeks!

Tortellini with Walnut & Mascarpone Sauce...

So I had a massive math error on this one when I was originally figuring it out.  I remember thinking at the time that it didn't sound quite right (but it was late and I was tired, so alas), so I sat down and entered everything into CalorieKing.com again today before making it.  Sure enough, I miscalculated on the walnuts pretty substatially...I'm not sure how, but I was definitely off.  Sooooo...contrary to the menu plan, this dish will now be SIX servings instead of four and 511 calories instead of 470...whoops!  :)  Anyway, it seemed to have all worked out as far as portion size, etc., so it's all good.  I think I stumbled on this recipe on FoodGawker, although it could have been Pinterest...it's all starting to blur together this month.  The original is found on Kayotic Kitchen (which will be used for THREE recipes this month, if you can believe it...she's got some good looking stuff on there!).  The whole "Kayotic" thing was sort of ironic, since once I got into the recipe, there were some dramatically different measurements reflected in the ingredients list than were referenced in the actual body of the recipe.  I went with whatever looked right to me and/or what I actually had on hand.  I would normally have used a spinach tortellini, but again, as my sister will be in town, I skipped the spinach in order to avoid an accidental trip to the ER.  I also doubled the recipe (the measurements I actually used are reflected in my recipe below), as the original recipe was intended to be a side dish, and I'm making entree portions.  Anyway, here we go:

Tortellini with Walnut & Mascarpone Sauce
6 Servings, 511 Calories each

Ingredients
- 1 med. onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 oz. walnuts
- 2 - 9oz. pkg. tortellini
- 2 oz. shredded parmesan
- 1 T. olive oil
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
- Flat leaf parsley, to taste

Directions
Toast walnuts in a dry skillet for a few minutes to bring out the flavor, and then run through food processor/chopper; set aside.  Mix together mascarpone, parmesan, and parsley; set aside.  Cook pasta according to package directions (don't forget to salt the water).  While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a skillet to med/med-high.  Add onions and garlic and cook until tender (I browned mine a little, which I hadn't intended to do, but I got distracted for a couple minutes by a phonecall, and let them go a tiny bit too long...either way, it'll be fine).  Add mascarpone mixture, and stir until melted and combined with onions/garlic.  Stir in walnuts.  Mix in drained pasta and enjoy!

This looks really tasty...I tried a little bit of the sauce and really liked it.  I think the portion size will be fine...I was a little worried when I made it into two extra servings to keep the calories semi-reasonable, but it looks like it'll be plenty.  I'll let ya know how it all turns out :)

Broccoli, Cheese & Mushroom Flipsides...

This was another Pinterest find.  The original recipe is at lisa is cooking and also has a recipe for homemade crust as well.  Me being me, I went ahead and used a store-bought Pillsbury crust :)  One thing about the original, in no way do I see that you would ever need anywhere NEAR as much broccoli as they called for.  I could've made 25 or 30 of them with the pound of broccoli they called for!  That said, I scaled down the amount of broccoli in the recipe...and that still might even be a little too much. 

Broccoli, Cheese & Mushroom Flipsides
10 servings, 345 calories each

Ingredients

1/2 pound broccoli florets, chopped
4 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 pkg. Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts
2 c. shredded cheddar
1 egg + 2 T. water, beaten
Seasoning, to taste

Directions

Combine broccoli, mushrooms, cheese (save a little cheese to put on top later) & seasonings in large bowl.  Roll out pie crusts and cut 10 circles approx 6" in diameter (I just used a cereal bowl to estimate the size).  Brush the whole top side of the first circle with a light coating of egg wash.  Spoon broccoli mixture into the center of the circle.  Fold dough over and crimp edges with a fork to seal.  Place on greased cookie sheet or parchment paper.  Repeat with the next 9 flipsides.  Brush each flipside with egg wash.  Use a knife to cut three slits in each, and the sprinkle with additional cheese.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15-25 minutes until golden brown.

I'm serving mine with Parmesan Hashbrown Cups for a total of 446 calories.  Since both parts of this meal are pretty portable, I went ahead and just packaged them in ziploc baggies this time (yay for saving freezer space!).  Enjoy!