Cookin' & Cussin'

Shrimp & Sausage Stuffed Shells

UGH. Once again, my title is “too long’ — which really just seems like a bad opinion to me.

Y’ALL.

First of all, Happy Falllllll. While I realize the official start of fall isn’t until September 23, in my heart, it is fall TODAY. For what exact reason, I know not. But all I know is my house is decorated for Fall & Halloween, I’ve got my cute outfits picked out for *cooler* weather and my palate is ready for some fall-inspired food!

Last Friday, September 1st we had our first taste of “False Fall” – y’all know what I’m talking about. That bullshit that ONLY Virginia pulls when its like “ohhh mmhm the weather is gonna be 78 degrees all weekend but it will be back up to 92 on Monday morning” -- *drips in sweat just typing this*

So because I have amnesia, I’m excited because this weekend is supposed to pull the same shit as aforementioned above – low 80s all weekend and probably spiking back up by next Monday…..and so the vicious cycle continues until December.

BUT ANYWAY.

lil humble brag.

Today is also my 100th post on the blog.

WILD. I know, right? I’m just seriously in disbelief that I’ve posted 100 recipes. I’m not talking about my little videos & reels….I’m talking 100 STRAIGHT RECIPE POSTS. Full entries. Full Recipes. Full Pictures. FULL OF IT.

I’m very pleased & wanted my 100th recipe to be something majorly delicious. I also wanted it to be free from weather-related content because….of the shit I talked about above. Because the weather can’t ever seem to make up its mind in Virginia so EAT WHATEVER THE HELL YOU WANT.

So yea…anyways. I’m feeling a little ragey-excited about the weather. But this one holds no bars in relation to what the weather is doing….because it really just matters not.

I present to you : Shrimp & Sausage Stuffed Shells. IDK what it is about Stuffed Shells in general that makes me giddy. Maybe it’s the insane amount of cheese that’s literally just stuffed into GIANT shells of pasta?! Maybe it’s reminiscent of my childhood. Judy would make Stuffed Shells but they were Cheese & Marinara only. Which is fine, but let’s liven up a classic.

how did we get here?

Let’s talk protein. I personally love pairing shrimp with something other than steak….Surf & Turf is fine, but where is the sense of adventure?! Plus…WHERE IS THE PASTA? If I have to choose between a dish that is double meat (surf & turf / land & sea) or pasta….Pasta is gonna win everytime. So let’s make it absolutely delicious! I wanted a hit of something else other than ground beef because eh….I don’t think ground beef & shrimp is exactly a match made in heaven. Hot Italian Sausage hit the mark. I love the fennel seeds & spicy red pepper to give it that punch that the sweet shrimp needs to help it along.

Let’s talk sauce. I didn’t want the sauce to be super thick or heavy with the shrimp. I wanted a delicate balance of flavors while still being delicious & cheese-heavy. Vodka sauce won the choice and I think it was PERFECT because adding a touch more vodka to thin it out & a smattering of spices really leveled the playing field and allowed the shrimp to shine thru!

Let’s talk additions. Extra Garlic, Extra Herbs & Extra Cheese….always, always, always! I wanted this dish to be ROBUST and I obviously believe that no ingredient overshadowed another – which was exactly what I was going for. I loved the simplicity of the ingredients, but putting them all together was a complete flavor explosion!

I’m sure you’re either completely bewildered at this point or drooling – maybe both?? Don’t worry, that’s why I always give you an over-abundance of pictures to help you thru *wink* Let’s Get To It!

Ingredients

• 12 large shrimp, deveined & peeled

• ½ LB Hot Italian Sausage

• 1 PKG Jumbo Shells, boiled

• 1 Jar Vodka Sauce, your favorite brand

• 1 Can Diced Tomatoes, 15 Oz

• ½ Large Vidalia Onion, diced finely

• 5 cloves Garlic, diced finely

• 2 TBS Tomato Paste

• 1 Oz Vodka

• ¼ cup Fat Free Half & Half

FILLING INGREDIENTS

• 1 Cup Low Fat Ricotta Cheese

• 1 Cup Low Fat Cottage Cheese

• 2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided

• ½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

• 1 egg

• 1 TBS EA Fresh Herbs : Oregano & Thyme, finely chopped

• 1 TSP EA : S+P, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Basil, Red Pepper Flakes

Instructions, 1

So let’s begin with honesty. This recipe is “easy” but it requires a shit-ton of ingredients & a shit-ton of time. So I would either make these ahead of time so you can pop them in the oven when you’re ready to eat them, or I would buckle up for some major Mis En Place & steps. But you can do this – I gotchu.

Firstly, fill a large pot with water & boil – add enough salt (once it starts boiling) so it tastes like the sea.”

Boil your shells to the time limit of “Al Dente” MINUS 3 minutes. Drain & set aside to cool.

You don’t want your shells to be falling apart or gummy – cause that’s gross.

While your shells are boiling & cooling, you can be getting all your other shit together to make this process as quick & easy as possible!

Peel & De-vein your shrimp – it’s a must. Just do it. Then chop the raw shrimp into small-er pieces. But don’t chop it so it becomes pasty or gummy.

Brown & Crumble your sausage – season with garlic powder only. Remove from the skillet & set aside.

Using the same skillet & all those wonderful sausage drippings, gently cook your shrimp. Season with S+P & Garlic Powder.

Remove from the pan & add to the same bowl that the cooked sausage is in – set aside & allow to cool.

Now we are making the Vodka Sauce even more like Vodka Sauce knew it could ever be.

YUM.

Chop the Vidala Onion & finely chop the Garlic cloves.

There still should be some remnants of drippings left behind but add a swirl of olive oil just to be safe.

Sautee the Garlic & Onion for a few minutes on medium heat.

Spoon in the 2 TBS of Tomato Paste and immediately pour in your 1 shot of Vodka, stir around in the pan to allow the Vodka to mix with the Tomato Paste.

Pour in the can of diced tomatoes & the jar of Vodka Sauce & use the ¼ cup of Half & Half to get all the remaining sauce out of the jar – that’s my trick! I pour in a little extra liquid & SHAKE-SHAKE-SHAKE the jar to get alllllll the goodness out!

Stir your sauce around & allow it to bubble for about 5-10 minutes on low heat.

This will give you time to get your Stuffing Mixture together for your shells!

In a medium bowl, combine BOTH Cottage & Ricotta Cheeses and crack 1 egg into the mixture.

Measure out 1 cup of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (the other 1 cup will be for the topping) and ½ cup of Grated Parmesan.

Add those cheeses to the bowl of Cottage & Ricotta Cheese.

Measure out the spices (garlic powder, onion powder, basil, oregano, thyme red pepper flakes) and stir into the CHEESES bowl.

It will be a little runny but that’s perfectly fine.

Stir in your cooked hot sausage crumbles & shrimp – VIOLA! You’re ready to start stuffing!

Instructions, 2

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

In a large casserole pan – choose your favorite! Whichever one you like! – spoon a few heapings of Vodka Sauce into the bottom of the casserole pan & swirl to coat.

I personally like to set up a station AWAY from the heat of the oven so it’s easier to work.

Your Cheese-Stuffing-Mixture Bowl & cooled down Jumbo Shells should be side-by-side with your sauce-lined casserole dish at the ready.

Using a large spoon, simply pick up 1 Jumbo Shell & open it with your index & thumb and spoon the mixture directly into the Jumbo Shell.

You don’t want to overstuff the shells, but you don’t want them to be curled up & closed either – I’ve included pictures for reference.

Stuff as many shells as your casserole dish & cheese mixture allows – you can always save any remaining mixture to mix in with spaghetti & remaining vodka sauce at a later time – just sayin!

Arrange however you’d like into your casserole dish.

But make it pretty. GEEZ.

Once you have finished stuffing & arranging your shells, it’s time to add the final touches.

Gently spoon the Vodka Sauce in neat rows over your arrangement of Stuffed Shells & Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of Mozzarella Cheese.

You don’t want the extra sauce to COVER UP your beautifully stuffed shells, but you don’t want anything to dry out in the oven, either.

The extra smattering of sauce is SO needed to help balance out the richness of the double meat & the heaviness of the cheese mixture.

Cover with tin foil & bake for 25 minutes.

Remove the foil and turn down the heat to 350 and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

It will be a beautiful sight – bubbly, melty, deliciousness!

GRAB A PLATE! NO, GRAB 2 PLATES!

((I mean, shit I hope you’re sharing this with somebody))

Sprinkle with fresh Basil & serve immediately!

Trust me, whoever you choose to serve this to will be HELLA impressed!

Pasta Makes Me Happy.

Plain & Simple. No matter the weather or time of year. Now let’s not get it twisted – I enjoy pumpkin sauce with the right audience & state of mind. But today was not one of those days.

Vodka Sauce to me is the ultimate Woo Girl. She is down for anything at anytime. She can fit in with practically any protein & is a delicious, lighter twist on Marinara.

I loved this combo because it was both light & heavy at the same time – but lessening the amount of Hot Italian Sausage was really the key here. Because when I think of Stuffed Shells, I usually don’t use meat, which is fine, but clearly I wanted something else thrown in here to set it apart from the rest.

There is no end to how creative you can be – OH THE PASTA-BILITIES *wink* I just had to throw something CHEESY in there.

Oh my god I’m making myself cringe. ANYWAY. Not an ode to summer or a nod to the beginning of fall. Just a DELICIOUS recipe that I wanted to share for my 100th blog post. I wanted it to be a good one. A BANG, if you will. & sure as shit, this one brings the heat.

Thanks for all the love, y’all. This continues to be a ride that I’m happy to be on!