Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce

Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce 
by The On-Call Cook 

 Sauce:
1/2 lb hamburger
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
15 oz tomato puree
6 oz tomato paste
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp basil
1 tsp salt

Shells:
1 cup broccoli (optional)
1 carrot (optional)
1/4 cup chopped onion (optional)
1/2 lb ricotta
1 1/2 cup mozzarella
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tsp basil
Jumbo pasta shells, cooked and drained

Brown the hamburger and onion in a large saucepan. Once it is browned, remove the grease. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and let it simmer for 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350.

 Start the water for the shells. Once the water is boiling, add the shells and cook for the minimum time listed on the package. Meanwhile, combine the ricotta cheese, 1 c mozzarella cheesethe egg, and the Parmesan cheese. Mix it all together. Place the broccoli, carrot, and onion in a food chopper and pulse until it's really small. Add the vegetable mixture and basil to the cheese mixture. Spread some of the marinara sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. Scoop some of the cheese mixture into the cooked shells. Place the stuffed shells into the baking dish. Top with more marinara. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 c of mozzarella. Bake, covered, for 35 minutes.

Traditional Southern Deviled Eggs

To my surprise, my son had never eaten a deviled egg before!

Traditional Southern Deviled Eggs
by Paula Dean 

7 large eggs, hard boiled and peeled
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
Salt and pepper, for taste
Paprika, for garnishing
Sweet gherkin pickles sliced, for garnishing
Pimentos, for garnishing

Halve 7 eggs lengthwise. Remove yolks and place in a small bowl. Mash yolks with a fork and stir in mayonnaise, pickle relish, and mustard. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Fill egg whites evenly with yolk mixture. Garnish with paprika, pickles and pimentos. Store covered in refrigerator.

"Carrots" - Chocolate Covered Strawberries

I saw this idea on Pinterest and knew we had to recreate it.  I used white chocolate and orange food coloring.  Next time I think we need to use a little more orange for a deeper color.

Kool-Aid Dyed Eggs

 Kool-Aid Dyed Eggs

This year we followed Jen Renee's tutorial for dying Easter eggs.  We used 1 pack of Kool-Aid and 2/3 cup water.  

The colors turned out beautiful...

except for the red. 

We still think it's pretty, but it turned out a little speckled, instead of a solid color

Easter Egg Hunt Lunch

Ready!

This cute idea of an Easter Egg Hunt Lunch has been on many different blogs.  I knew Hannah would love it, so today I made her lunch and divided it up into twelve plastic Easter eggs.  

After they were hidden, Hannah started hunting for the eggs.

   

She's almost there!  Only 4 left to go.  

Here's the complete "lunch" 

 I didn't have any chips small enough to fit into the eggs so I used white cheddar popcorn as a replacement.  Next year I'll make sure to have cheetos on hand. The other items were a peanut butter sandwich, strawberries, cashews, and one candy. I am buying the jumbo sized eggs for next year's lunch.  She's only 6, so this size was fine, but don't think that will last too much longer.  

The food wasn't anything Hannah hasn't had before, or anything "extra special".  But she thought it was the best.  Hannah said, "Man!  I love this lunch!"