Stuffed Shells with Ricotta, Kale and Sundried Tomatoes

Irene was not very considerate this past weekend...

I know, the picture doesn't look that bad. But just like everyone else on the east coast, I had no access to public transit and was stranded at home. All I can say is, there was a whole lot of Xbox action in the living room and I could do was to hide in my sanctuary...

Just to realize that I didn't have a pot big enough for all the shells.

Imagine this at the grocery store check out line during a half-country-wide emergency situation: lots of strawberries, blueberries, yogurt, ricotta cheese, fresh garlic, kale, lettuce, eggplants, 2 cans of stewed tomatoes, 4 packages of steak, 2 bottles of water. Yup, that idiot would be yours truly... completely devoid of any survival instinct or common sense.

But I can make a pretty good stuffed shell filling...

And then I had a light bulb moment: what if my power goes out just like the other 3 million people on the east coast? Won't the fridge *gasp* stop working?

That's when I realized I needed to use up as much of my groceries as possible before Irene got here.

And so here you go, dinner served. A little bit of meat on the side never hurts!! Hope you had a safe weekend too :)

Stuffed Shells with Ricotta, Kale and Sundried Tomatoes


Makes 4-6 servings

1 package jumbo shell pasta
3 cups ricotta cheese
3 1/2 cups packed raw kale leaves, washed and roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tbsp sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 stalks of green onions, chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 can pasta sauce
Salt and pepper
Dash of olive oil

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt the water and add jumbo shells, cook until al dante. Drain and rinse with ice water to prevent further cooking.
2. Heat a skillet to medium heat. Add dash of olive oil and cook garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Add kale to skillet and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Turn off stove and let cool.
4. When kale has completely cooled down, mix the following together: ricotta cheese, green onions, kale, sundried tomatoes, 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese, a pinch of salt and pepper.
5. Line a baking pan with a little bit of olive oil. Stuff shells with filling and line them up in the pan. Cover and refrigerate until 30 minutes before meal.
6. Preheat oven to 350. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve immediately.