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Colourful cheesey pesto pork shells from the kitchens of  chrismukkah

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...Sometimes you just get a craving for stuffed shells, so yeah, I made them :B

Stuffed Pesto & Pork Shells

*optional

From:

#

1 box (12 ounce) Jumbo Pasta Shells

For the Sauce:

1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced (1 teaspoon)
1/4 cup flour
3 cups whole milk or 1/2 and 1/2
1/2 teaspoon Frank's hot sauce
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

...er...this, I skipped as you can quite obviously see. I actually went with what was recommended on the pasta box- that is, just grease the pan a little bit- pour out half a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce + two teaspoons water-

When you have filled all of the shells, just cover the rest with the other half of the sauce, plus whatever shredded cheese you have left in the bag / Parmesan shake cheese, then cover with foil and bake :B

Moving on...

For the Filling:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup roasted red pepper, from a jar, finely diced
1/2 cup onion, finely diced
1 large zucchini, diced* (what can I say, I love zucchini :P)
a decent pinch of dried rosemary*
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast / pork cutlets, cooked and diced - only reason why I went with pork is, we already HAD chicken a day or two before :P
(tenderized, marinated in Italian dressing & then grilled first*)

*All you have to do here is use a grill pan (or your grill) and- these cook QUICK on high heat...maybe a minute or two on each side, if that! Then just put the pork on a plate, let rest/cool, and chop up for the filling.

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Italian Cheese Blend Cheeses,divided (1 bag of this pre-shredded, in the 2-cup variety, is more than enough)

Basil Pesto: good handful of fresh basil, chopped roughly + ½ to ¾ cup toasted walnuts or pinenuts + 1 cup Italian cheese + 2 to 3 cloves chopped roasted garlic + 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, blended - yeah, I actually roasted the garlic along with toasting the pine nuts separately in a small cookie sheet at 375 F. Then I just got a mini chopper and blended it all together...SO GOOD !!

BUT - please note- You MUST cook the pine nuts in the oven for at least FIVE minutes, NO MORE. (A light toasted brown is preferable) Any longer, they get burned and become rancid >_<

Meanwhile, the garlic can stay in a foil packet with a good bit of olive oil on it (tablespoon or so) and roast in the oven for a bit longer though- usually around 20 to 30 minutes, depending on your oven / size of the bulb / where its cooking on the rack.

1/2 teaspoon dried Oregano (to taste) - skipped

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside.

For the sauce: While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for a minute or two until fragrant. Blend in the flour and continue cooking over medium heat for about 2 minutes until bubbly. Slowly add the whole milk or 1/2 and 1/2 along with the Frank's hot sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the grated Parmesan Cheese....

.....er...or, just use the tomato sauce trick as mentioned earlier :P

For the filling: Heat olive oil in a medium sized skillet, add red pepper and onion, and chopped zucchini, pinch of rosemary and saute for about 3 minutes until soft. (I had to use two separate bowls...one of the folks that I cooked this for doesnt like red pepper derp)

Mix sauteed vegetables with the chicken (pork), 1 1/2 cups Italian Blend Cheese, basil pesto and ricotta cheese in a separate bowl once you have sauteed the veggie stuff (should only take about 5 - 10 minutes there).

In a lightly greased casserole dish place about 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of the dish. Fill the pasta shells with the filling and place in the dish. Spoon the rest of the tomato sauce (or Parmesan sauce) over the shells, cover the shells as much as possible with the sauce so they don't dry out when cooking.

Sprinkle with remaining Italian Blend Cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, but COVER it with foil! Otherwise you will get those shells crunchy and burnt! Then - Sprinkle with freshly minced Italian parsley if desired. (Have to try that next time :B)

Enjoy!

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Allergy warning – recipe contains pinenuts, dairy & egg products