Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Movie, Lottsa Romances.

Dolphin TaleI rented the movie Dolphin Tale with Morgan Freeman being the only actor with whom I was familiar, great movie, based on a true story about a Dolphin; they designed a new prosthetic tail for her in order to save her life and incidentally to save the marine animal hospital where she was being treated. The movie tells the story of Winter, the young dolphin, and Sawyer who became her friend. Matt would have been green with envy – he has always wanted to swim with dolphins. So

I was recently lent a whole bag full of books which I have been working my way through. I just finished Tempting Torment by Jo Goodman. Not the kinds of books I usually read, but I especially enjoyed that one. It was a good story as well as being a hot romance. It turns out this author writes quite a few books about the same family, I will have to look out for more.

Short blog today as well as being late, for a number of reasons, health being one.

Apparently today is pasta day!!! That being so, obviously a pasta recipe is called for. I found this one on Cooking.com.

Baked Shells with Pesto, Mozzarella, and Meat Sauce

Source: Quick from Scratch – One Dish Meals

Serves 4

Here's a true crowd pleaser: pasta shells in a simple sauce of ground beef, tomatoes, and pesto, layered with mozzarella and Parmesan and baked until bubbly. Fusilli or orecchiette would work well here, too.
Baked ShellsINGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 onion, chopped

1 pound ground beef

2 cups chopped canned tomatoes, drained (from one 28-ounce can)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup store-bought or homemade pesto

3/4 pound medium pasta shells

6 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Oil a large baking dish (about 9 by 13 inches).

In a large stainless-steel frying pan, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the ground beef and cook, breaking it up, until the meat is no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Drain off any excess fat.

Add the tomatoes and salt to the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook until most of the liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the pesto.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the shells until just done, about 10 minutes. Drain and toss with the sauce. Put half of the pasta into the prepared baking dish and top with half the mozzarella and 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan. Repeat with the remaining pasta, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Bake until bubbling, about 15 minutes.

Variation:

Almost any relatively soft, mild cheese will taste good here. You might try fontina in place of the mozzarella, or even Gouda or Havarti.

Have a great day

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