Sweet.

Finishing this work week with something sweet and delicious - apple pie with vanilla ice cream.

 

Stuffed shells.

I found this great recipe for stuffed shells and had to try it. This recipe is from www.forkknifeswoon.com, this blog is full of delicious food.

Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells.

• 16 jumbo pasta shells (Cook a couple of extra shells to allow for a few breaking while the pasta cooks.)
• 1-1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp fresh garlic, minced
• 4 cups (packed) fresh spinach leaves, roughly-chopped
• 12 oz skim-milk ricotta cheese
• 1 cup shredded skim-milk mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
• 1-1/4 cups marinara sauce

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cook the pasta al dente, according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the garlic and cook until it begins to brown, about a minute or two. Add the spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until the leaves begin to wilt but are still bright green, about 3 to 4 minutes. The spinach should be reduced by half. Remove from the heat and let cool.
3. In a mixing bowl, stir together the spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, basil and salt and pepper until thoroughly combined. Pour 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce into the bottom of a shallow 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish. Stuff each pasta shell with a generous amount of the spinach and ricotta mixture, and place in the baking dish.
4. Cover with the remaining sauce and bake covered with aluminum foil for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the top begins to brown and the sauce begins the bubble, another 10-15 minutes. Serve warm with a dusting of Parmesan.

Planing.

The gardening season is so close, I'm getting all ready, bringing some dirt and manure and planning the layout. 

 

Baking.

Yesterday was a little bakery here because my girls made some sugar cookies shaped like cats and I worked on muffins using the yogurt recipe I posted before. This time I separated the butter into 3 parts and add some food colouring for fun. 

In my kitchen.

This recipe is once again something from my childhood. It might be a weird combination of ingredients for some but believe me it’s delicious.

You will need:

-pasta, any pasta will do, originally my Mom made home pasta cut in small squares,   

-cabbage

-bacon

-butter for frying

-salt and pepper

Cook pasta, drain and set aside.

Shred the cabbage and cook it on the butter until soft.

Separately, fry bacon cut in small pieces  

Combine everything, add salt and pepper to your taste and enjoy. 

New shelf.

So my shelf in the window started to roll up because it was made from a peck board. My husband decided to make a new one that looks better and it’s longer. And the old one will go to my kids room because its light and the ceiling there might come down if we use actual wood, we live in an old building and not everything is well done. 

The shelf is hanging on small hooks.

 

Growing.

The weather is getting warmer, I hope that soon I will be able to do some gardening outside but for now I’m making new plants from the old ones. 

New books.

This week new reads for everyone. Maya is still with To Kill a Mockingbird but that happens only in school and at home she is reading All the Bright Places.

Ella is reading graphic version of The little Prince at this time. 

And I started on Heaven is for Real and also My Pantry by Alice Waters. 

Yesterday I watched Brooklyn after I finished the book. When I was reading it I thought it was boring and then I watched the movie and I was really glad that I didn't go to the movie theater for this. The book (like always) is so much better and the movie is missing a lot of thing that I thought were important and you can understand only if you read the book.

Reading.

I'm doing some gardening reading, getting ready for new season. I hoped that in April I would be able to start some planting but yesterday we had lots of snow and its cold so for now I just stay with my books make some plans and wait.

 

Baking.

This is a traditional Easter cake when it come to a shape, the recipe is something I found in a magazine and its so easy that I made it many times in different shapes and sizes including muffins.

You will need:
- 2 cups flour
- 300g of natural yogurt
- 3 eggs
- 1,5 cup sugar
- 100ml oil
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract 

Prepare your pan or muffin tin, preheat oven to 350F.
Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix it well, bake for about 40 minutes for a cake and about 25 minutes for muffins.