Stuffed Shells & Simple Pleasures

Brodey is pretty easy to entertain. Scooby Doo will do the trick for as long as I let him sit there glued to the tv. When I feel like he has had enough it's pretty easy to find something for him to do. When I was little the only time we got to play with the garden hose was if we had a Slip and Slide or when we were getting hosed off before we were able to come in the house. It was just too muddy for us to really be able to play with the garden hose. Where we live now (in Tahlequah on a hill) we can get 6 inches of rain and it's gone in about 5 minutes. I can't plant anything or even stick a shephard's hook in the ground because it's that solid. We have about an inch of soil and the rest is rock so when I need to entertain Bro while I'm outside I just hand him the garden hose. He can spray that thing forever and no mud. It's great!
I looked over at him today in his little pull ups and PJ top and thought "my gosh the money we spend on toys and I can give the kid a garden hose and he's happy." ~ Don't worry environmentalists. I put a limit on his spray time. ;)
So I guess this weekend we are headed back to the lake! Tomorrow we have a birthday party for Citi (Eric's grandma) to go to. It isn't until later so we get to be lake trash the rest of the day and weekend. I just wish I had my little point and shoot fixed. Ah well!
So Natalie requested the recipe for Stuffed Shells. Brodey LOVES this dinner. I am always searching magazines and cookbooks for new dinners to cook. It gets old cooking the same thing when you have to cook dinner 7 nights a week. Most of the time the recipe gets changed to fit what my family likes to eat. Eric wants garlic in everything. I stick onions in just about everything I cook. This recipe is originally from a Paula Deen magazine and called for Turkey and spinach. I replaced the turkey with ground beef and sausage and nixed the spinach. Eric LOVES spinach, but not in his food. Go figure.
Brodey is so used to me cooking with onions and peppers that he has become a really good eater. He will eat broccoli, guacamole, and just about anything else we put in front of him. He might not like it, but he WILL try it!
Oh before I post this recipe I have to point out that with dinner we do no calorie counting. I count calories all day long with what I eat, but at dinner I just eat what I want but a small amount. So if you are trying to lose weight, you might try to change things about this recipe to make it suit you and your family. In this house when we eat dinner...we EAT! ;)

Stuffed Shells
1 pound ground beef
About 1/4 package of sausage (optional) I use the little Jimmy Dean roll
1/2 yellow onion (chopped)
1/2 Red Bell Pepper (chopped)
1 8oz Package of Cream Cheese, softened
3 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
2 Cups Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 Package of Jumbo Pasta Shells (this amount will fill up a 9x13 inch baking dish)
1 10oz Jar of your favorite pasta sauce (I use Ragu Marinara)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray your 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
Boil your jumbo shells as directed on the package. Drain and rinse your shells and set aside.
(optional) Crumble and cook your sausage in a small skillet until done. Set aside.
In a large skillet season and cook your ground beef until almost done. (I season mine with minced garlic, salt, and pepper) Add your red pepper and onion. Cook until beef is done and onions are translucent.
Add your cooked sausage to the beef mixture. Stir your sofened Cream Cheese into the sausage/beef mixture. Once that is mixed stir in 2 cups of mozzarella cheese and the grated parmesan cheese. (the mixture will be thick)
Spread about 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce onto the bottom of the baking dish.
Spoon beef mixture into cooked shells and lay them in the bottom of the baking dish. Pour remaining pasta sauce over shells.
Cover and cook 45 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and cook uncovered for an additional 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

*If you like spinach just add 1 10oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and dranined to the beef mixture before you stuff the shells!

And that's how you make the stuffed shells! They are SO good! I actually think they are better the next day for lunch! When I cook these I also make a baked potato and a green salad.
If anyone makes this let me know if you like it! If you have any questions or if I goofed typing it out let me know too!
Well I'm off to clean this house of mine! I hate coming back to a dirty house after a fun weekend!
I hope you have a fun one too!
LUV APRIL