Scrumptious shells

My whole family loved these stuffed shells. I adapted a recipe from Carrie's Cooking Corner, using fresh spinach from our garden instead of frozen. I will definitely make this again. I am always glad to have another good meatless recipe on hand.

THE RECIPE:

20 jumbo pasta shells, cooked and drained
16 oz. low-fat cottage cheese
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained*
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. EACH garlic powder, onion powder, dried basil, dried oregano
1/4 tsp. pepper
16 oz. spaghetti sauce

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix cottage cheese, spinach, 1/2 cup mozzarella, Parmesan and seasoning. Spoon filling into shells. Pour half of spaghetti sauce into bottom of 9x13 baking dish. Line up filled shells in baking dish, then spoon remaining sauce down the middle of each line of shells. Bake 20 minutes. Top with remaining cheese and bake a couple of minutes more.

*I used 4 packed cups fresh spinach, which I washed and roughly chopped.

Bring on the spring

This is a fun idea for decorating cupcakes. Frost your cupcakes as desired, then cut marshmallows into fourths to make flower petals. I used kitchen shears coated with cooking spray. Use gumdrops for the centers. Fun and easy! Thanks to my cousin Kristy for the idea.

St. Patrick's Day dessert

My kids took St. Patrick's Day very seriously this year. They literally pinched me at least 100 times in the morning, until I put on a green shirt. I got with the program, and everything was green after that! We had a St. Patrick's Day dinner of corned beef and a bunch of yummy green sides.

We ended the night with the lime Jell-O cream cheese pie you see above. It is the easiest thing in the world to throw together, and its thick, creamy, Jell-O-y filling is delicious. You must serve it with fresh whipped cream. Plan ahead for refrigeration time.

THE RECIPE:

1 graham cracker pie crust
1 3-ounce package lime Jell-O
1 c. boiling water
8 ounces light cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. lime juice

Dissolve Jell-O into boiling water. Add cream cheese and beat with electric mixer until smooth and combined. Add lime juice. Pour into pie crust. Refrigerate at least four hours, until set.

Superior sandwiches

These sandwiches are so delicious. They make us happy. I've seen them all over the Web, so I don't know who deserves the credit, but pouring sauce over a sandwich is a wonderful idea. The recipe is quite versatile. You can change the meat, the roll size, the mustard type. You can use it as a main dish (large rolls) or an appetizer (little slider rolls) -- whatever you want. Enjoy!

THE RECIPE:

24 small dinner rolls OR 12 large French rolls
Ham or turkey slices (I used deli meat)
Swiss cheese slices
Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip

Slice rolls in half and spread Miracle Whip on both sides. Place meat and cheese inside, then close rolls and place tightly together in baking dish. Pour or spoon sauce over all. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Uncover and bake a couple of minutes more. Serve warm. Sandwiches can be assembled ahead of time (including sauce) and refrigerated before baking.

Sauce:

1/2 c. butter, melted
1 1/2 Tbsp. yellow mustard or spicy brown
1 Tbsp. minced onion
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 Tbsp. poppy seeds

Whisk together sauce ingredients, and then pour evenly over sandwiches.

Little red jewels

This is a fun new twist on an old favorite. Pomegranate guacamole is a concept my lovely cousin Kristy introduced to me. I make it differently every time, according to what I have on hand, and you can do the same. You can add tomatoes, but I kind of like to let the pomegranate go solo. I just always make sure to include the coriander, because its fruity undertones complement the pomegranate nicely.

THE RECIPE:

3 ripe avocados, mashed
3 Tbsp. lime juice
1-2 Tbsp. finely diced red onion
1 clove garlic, pressed (add another if you like spice)
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro leaves
Seeds from half a pomegranate*

Whip together thoroughly first six ingredients, then stir in cilantro and pomegranate seeds. Refrigerate about an hour so flavors can mix.

*Click here to learn how to seed a pomegranate without a mess.

Cornmeal has a new job

This creamy soup is called cornmeal chicken chowder with sweet potatoes. Cook's Country came up with a unique thickening agent -- cornmeal batter. Our family really loved the flavor it added. We also loved the sweet potatoes.

Cornmeal thickener:

1 1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. flour
3 1/2 Tbsp. cornmeal
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt

Mix everything together in small bowl and set aside until ready for use in chowder. If you don't want to make your own thickener, you may use 1/2 cup of dry store-bought corn muffin mix (such as Jiffy) and combine it with the 1 1/2 cups milk.

Chowder:

1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. thyme or oregano
1/4 tsp. salt
4 c. chicken broth
2 chicken breast halves, cut into chunks*
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 c. shredded cheese
1 1/2 c. frozen corn

Make cornmeal thickener and set aside. Heat butter in pot, then add onion. Saute for a couple of minutes before adding garlic and spices. Saute one minute more, then add broth, along with raw chicken and sweet potatoes. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat and simmer about five minutes. Stir in cornmeal thickener, then bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer again -- this time about 10 minutes. Add cheese and corn and cook a couple of minutes more.

*In some recipes, I don't love the texture of boiled chicken. This was one of those. It was my only hang-up with the recipe. It didn't bother my husband. Even though it's convenient to just throw the chicken in, I might try cooking it first next time and stirring it in at the end. Or, it might be nice to use rotisserie chicken. I have made this recipe twice -- the first time with the boiled chicken and the second time without any chicken. You can do whatever suits your fancy.

I dare you to eat only one

Your life isn't complete if you don't know about these. They are Rolo pretzel bites, and I've never met a soul who didn't like them. Or one who ate fewer than 20 in a sitting. Our sister Joanne introduced us to these years ago, but we forgot about them for a long time. Never again.

THE RECIPE:

Small pretzels
Unwrapped Rolo candies
Pecan halves*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pretzels on cookie sheet lined with foil. Place a Rolo on top of each pretzel. Put in oven for three minutes -- so the Rolos become melty but keep their shape. Mash a pecan half into the top of each Rolo. Eat them warm or let them cool on the foil. They will peel off easily after they have hardened.

*If you are allergic to nuts or just want a little color, replace the pecan halves with regular M&Ms.