Meat and Cheese Stuffed Pasta Shells

So, here is a recipe that got a lot of approval from my boyfriend’s family the other night. Pasta is one of my favorite types of food. I took some short cuts and just bought the sauces instead of making them. I’m using college finals as an excuse for my corner cutting!

I hope your family enjoys this easy quick meal as much as mine has!

Ingredients

• A box of large pasta shells
• 3/4 of a  Pound of Beef
• 1 teaspoon of Italian Seasoning
• A 16 ounce package of Ricotta Cheese ( I prefer whole milk)
• A  1/3 of a package of defrosted shredded spinach
• (Optional) experiment with more veggies! Dice some tomato and throw it in there. Or Mushroom!
• 1/2 cup of Shredded Mozzarella
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup of Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 jar of Beef marinara sauce
• 1/2 jar of pre-made Alfredo sauce

Follow the directions on the box of Pasta Shells for cooking. Preheat Oven for 350 degrees.

How to make the stuffing

1. Cook the beef thoroughly on the stove.
2. After cooked, drain and allow to sit under water for a couple seconds to cool.
3. Mix the Ricotta Cheese and Italian Seasoning in a bowl.
4. Add the Shredded Spinach and mix.
5. Add the veggies (the more veggie variety the less you need of each)
6. Add the beef  to the mixture and the Parmesan Cheese.

How to make the Sauce

1. The half of the two sauces together. I like to add some salt, a little powdered garlic, and ground pepper.

After draining the Shells, allow to cool under the facet.

Stuff the shells with the mixture and place into a large, greased, casserole dish.

After stuffing the shells, pour the sauce mixture over the shells. Make more sauce as needed.

Cover with the Shredded Mozzarella. Cook in oven for 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly.

I hope you enjoy! Feedback is welcome! Check out my other recipes and if you like them, follow my page!

 

 

 

Deep Fried Pickles

I actually got this recipe originally from Food Network but I changed it a little bit because I didn’t like the cayenne pepper. I also cut the recipe in half because I normally can’t consume that many deep fried pickles.

Peanut or vegetable oil, for frying
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1/3 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Kosher salt
1 cups sliced dill pickles, drained

Mix all of the bold ingredients into a mixing bowl and 1/3 of water.

Slice the pickles and dry them with a paper towel. If you don’t dry it enough the batter won’t stick to the pickles.

In a frying pan warm up the vegetable oil. Dip the pickles in the batter and put them into the warm batter until they brown.

Put them onto a paper towel with a plate underneath.

The best dipping dressing is ranch but I am sure you all have your own thoughts!

I hope you guys like this recipe! Add me or like!

Shrimp and Crab Cream Sauce

 

I love Italian food, especially fatty Italian food. I have been messing around with cream sauces for the past couple years. I found this recipe to be my favorite.

Ingredients 

• 1 clove of garlic (chopped)
• 1 TBSP of Olive Oil
• 1 TBSP of butter
• 2 cups of whipping cream
• 1 lb of crab leg meat (cooked and I suggest real crab meat)
• Cooked Shrimp (however much you want)
• 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 a cup of Parmesan Cheese
• (I like mushrooms in it as well) 1/2 Sliced mushroom

Process

1. Put the Olive Oil and butter into a Sauce Pan over Med. heat.
2. Wait for the butter to turn to liquid and add the chopped garlic.
3. Let the Garlic brown lightly, add mushroom until cooked and add the whipping cream.
4. Once the whipping cream comes to a light boil start adding the shredded mozzarella little by little until it is mixed in. You need it to be at high heat to get it to mix.
5. Then add the Parmesan Cheese.
6. Lastly, add the crab meat and shrimp.

 

Mix the sauce with any type of pasta. I like linguine or angel haired pasta. Add more cheese on top! It is most definitely my favorite recipe!!

 

What does Bae Mean?

We all reach that age when we question what the hell teenagers are talking about. We become disconnected from adolescents and we discover a rift between what is means to not be “hip” and what it means to not understand. When I came across the word “bae” in my news feed written by my teenage cousin. My first thought was this:

BAE

The word bae is a mystery to a lot of us older folk. Even though I am only 21. So I turned to what all of us do when we have questions. Google. The first definition I came across was the Danish translation. Bae in Danish translates to “poop” in English. So, it goes without saying I was confused because my cousin used Bae as a caption to a picture of a sexy black man. I had no idea about my cousin’s racism.

God, this hurts to look at.

I eventually dug deeper. Bae means “Before Anything Else”. Which makes more sense, except it doesn’t. There are several reasons it doesn’t make sense.
The first reason for this confusion is normal acronyms have some way to show they are acronyms. Such as upper case lettering or periods between the letters. I know with text talk properly using grammar is almost unnecessary but in this case I suggest it.
Some more playful reasons would be, poop is definitely not before anything else. If you are like me in the morning, coffee equals bae. Than comes poop. I can’t even imagine poop before having my coffee.

As an American, I think the Danish should change bae to coffee. This would make significantly more sense and would solve multiple translation issues.

Or perhaps Google can have a teenage translator.
Or, teenagers can just stop.

 

With everything, or nah?

Tis the Season of Giving

“For it is in Giving that We Receive”, is a well known quote by Francis of Assisi.

My number one rule of thumb for giving is do not expect to receive in return what you have given. During this season we give gifts, sweets, and smiles. We wear ugly Christmas sweaters as ‘jokes’ (We know you secretly like them), and spray Ever Green scents around our plastic tree to make it feel real. You might think that based off my sarcastic tone that I don’t take Christmas very seriously.

I’m as serious as this guy. And equally as pissed.

Let me tell you how wonderful it is to work at the mall during the Christmas season. First, most people think it starts at Black Friday, you are wrong. Christmas in retail starts as late as Halloween. Therefore, I have to mentally prepare myself for the over abundance of hate I feel toward mindless shoppers. Like an actor warming up for their big speech; I must warm myself to the idea of no sleep. I am forced to shit jolly until I go home and cry to myself. All while taking off my light up Christmas socks. And its not my boss’ fault.

They work harder than I do. No one is happy during the holidays. It shouldn’t be that way. Not even the Santa Claus and let me tell you, nothing is more surreal then running into Santa outside on a smoke break. They get tired of retail bullshit and they only deal with it one time of year. They feel lucky getting paid 26 dollars an hour to sit and act happy. It’s better than getting paid minimum wage and smiling at a bitch Soccer Mom who doesn’t understand that we don’t have anymore clothing in the backroom.

I wonder is they sell this at Walmart.

Somehow, the one time of year we are supposed to be nice to our fellow man, we forget part of giving is being a nice person. I sometimes wonder how people would react if they saw how their gifter acquired their gift. I wouldn’t be very thankful if my gifter had made a manager cry in attempt to get 20% off. It would ruin it for me.

Christmas has been all about giving, things. Physical things, wrapped in colorful paper that we later pack into trash bags and shove out to the curb for garbage day. I’m not saying material gifts are a bad way to go. Hell, if anyone wants to buy me a customized gaming PC with duel screens, please, it’s on my Christmas list. Hey, even some nice socks would be nice.

Apparently, these are the most expensive socks in the world.

I’m just mentioning the strong emphasis on it. What happened to the small things? I would take a nice memory of sharing hot chocolate with my deceased grandmother over those socks any day. I only get to spend so much time with my family during the holidays. I have school, work, my writing, and cultivating my own life. I honestly forget other people exist sometimes. It’s not that I don’t love them and they aren’t important. We simply put so much emphasis on financial success that if you don’t have something to show for it in the form of a nice gift on the holidays, what’s the point?

Grampa would love these.

We are in a cycle of giving. Your parents give you a nice home, an education, and the tools to succeed (at least to the best of their ability). So in return they want to be reimbursed with things like, grandchildren and weddings. Preferably not in that order. These reimbursements require money, and if you don’t want either of those things. Bring them a nice present is a great way to show your success because in this society, success is measured in Benjamin Franklins.

So, to bring the entire conversation full circle. I don’t think material gifts are so important. I would much rather open a wine bottle and have a fulfilling conversation about memories and good times than the world’s most expensive socks. Even regular Walmart socks. I think everyone is too high stressed during the holidays. They shop all night on Black Friday for pointless material stuff that probably will only last till next Christmas. Instead of focusing on cultivating memories that will last a life time. Until you get Alzheimer’s. Then, I guess you should have just asked for the expensive socks.

Have a Merry Christmas!!

A random memory.

I remember this old dog house my dad took from a property that was going to be leveled for a suburban Street.
I remember the late summer afternoons walking through the yard. I would stop by that old dog house. Unused and slowly becoming engulfed in tall grass. I found a butterfly cocoon.
I swear, memories I remember before fall asleep…

Omar’s Success Story

About 7 months ago I was lucky enough to find baby Omar. A three week old kitten with a severe upper respiratory infection. He was on the brink of death and not eating. I spent the first night with him calling every vet I could in the Cincinnati area, attempting to find any help I could get to save his life.

My first night with Omar

By morning I finally took my search to the road with Omar asleep on my chest. Thinking that maybe if a Vet could just see how bad his condition was he would find some way to let me pay in monthly increments. I finally found Noah’s Ark animal clinic, where they got me in contact with a cat rescue who would take him off my hands.

He needed hydration and severe antibiotics. His eyes were so swollen that he couldn’t open them and they were crusted shut. After meeting a woman from the rescue she assured me he would be in good care and that she will call me with updates. I left thinking his hard journey was over and he could finally find his fur-ever home.

Little Omar Sleeping at the Vet

But I got a phone call two hour later. The rescue told me Omar had FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) and she could not take him because he could possibly infect the other cats she has rescued. She asked me to take him back after his treatment if I did not, than the most likely outcome would for them to put him down.

So that night I picked him back up. I had to give him anti-bionics every 4 hours, eye drops every 11 hours, and feed him every 3 with a mixture of cat milk and a high protein soft food.

The little bed I made him that he wouldn’t sleep in.

For the next 3 weeks I raised him from near death. Never before have I loved such a pain in my ass. He had to sleep next to my head every night, cried when I left the room or when he couldn’t hear me.

I used a unity scarf to carry him around so I could have free hands.

Finally after about 4 weeks he opened his eyes for the first time and the swelling when down on his eyes. He was playing like a kitten and eating without me forcing him.

Sexy

Soon he had enough energy to start getting into trouble. Jumping on the counter, messing with the dog, and attacking feet. My mom finally told me I wasn’t allowed to find him another family because he was part of our family.

Omarian Oliver Taylor

And today he is 7 months old. My big boy. I am one proud cat mama.

Omar thinks he is people. (5m)

My 7 month old baby.

Thanks for celebrating Omar’s Success Story with me!

Ranch and cheese breaded Tilapia

This is just a quick post of one of my favorite recipes.
I love fish, but without mixing it up every now and then it can get boring! So here is my favorite Tilapia recipe.

Put about a half a cup of panko bread crumbs in a mixing bowl.
A half a cup of sharp cheddar cheese.
And mix in ranch until you get a clumpy constancy.
Cover the top of two fillets of prepared Tilapia.
Warm the oven to 425F, and cook from 13 to 15 minutes depending on if they fillets are frozen.

Enjoy!!

Insecurities of a 13 year old girl.

This is me now. Almost 22 years old. I’m not perfect, especially not skinny, but I think I am beautiful in the most humble way possible. It took almost ten years for me to find myself. Today, while at work, I did some thinking and came across a memory I had put away with the intent of never discovering it again. The first time I realized I was overweight and how people treated me because of it.
I was 13 and I was in a middle school gym class. I was sitting down during a free day close to a bunch of preppy teenage girls. They were all laughing having fun. I was sitting alone. I remember one of the girl wrapped her hands around her thigh and stated, “Look! I can touch my fingers around my thigh.”
The other girls did the same thing, rejoicing in their thinness, and laughing. I wanted to try but I was too embarrassed knowing I couldn’t.
I felt gross and uncomfortable in my own skin, and thus started the chain of insecurities I had struggling with.
It was a long road, but I’m stronger because of it.
This is just a small post to celebrate beauty in every form, and to let everyone one know you aren’t alone. You aren’t the only person hiding their hate for themselves. It is possible to love yourself despite your faults and there are people who support you in that journey!

Checkmate Feminist: One

I like discussing difficult subjects. Mostly because I have a strong interest in the thoughts of others that are different than my own. I believe that if I am going to talk about my own ideologies than it only seems fair to listen to the other side.

I just wish I heard something more than the same old arguments against feminism and it seem that feminism has grown in controversy on the internet. You have been heard internet people, I understand that you believe that feminism is all about hardcore lesbianism and man hating agendas.

I would like to address one of these arguments now.

First, fema-nazis. Okay, I get that females that get defensive about you holding open a door for them is annoying. I would be annoyed too. But comparing an entire ideology to the same people who committed the crime of mass genocide in death camps is not necessarily the best way to combat extremism. There is extremism in almost every belief.  Can we have an honest conversation for a second? What does an extreme feminist do that compares to a nazi? I would honestly like to know because if there is a death camp somewhere torturing men in the name of feminism, I swear I will never call myself a feminist again. Isn’t fema-nazi just a little dramatic?

There is all this talk about feminism stemming for the idea that they are victims of a patriarchal society. Could it possibly be people who complain about feminism act like victims of feminism. Since when has victim-ism ever become a reason to not change. Think about the founding father thinking, “Hey, we are just being weak little victims, we should just give ourselves back to Britain.” That is not how societal changes work. So calling a feminist an over-reacting victim of a patriarchal society isn’t doing much for Anti-feminism. An Anti-feminist should probably also not point fingers because ironically, calling a feminist an overly emotional fema-nazi isn’t making their own stance on feminist any more level headed.