food is my love language

A small space where I humbly share my time in the kitchen

[kalymeraskooking]

Stuffed Shells

Ingredient List

- Italian Sausage - Two raw eggs - Jumbo Shells  - Ricotta cheese, 48 oz - Shredded mozarella & parmesan  - Red sauce  - Fresh basil - Fresh chopped garlic (about 4 cloves) - Fresh chopped white or yellow onion  - Heavy whipping cream

Place your chopped garlic, onion and italian sausage in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Continue to mince the meat as it browns, and season to taste. Italian sausage is already a very flavorful meat, so go easy on the salt. I usually do a few pinches of smoked paprika, pepper and shake of Adobo. While you’re waiting for the meat to brown, now is a good time to start a boiling pot of water for your shells.

Get the shells cooked to the point where they are still a little firm, “al dente” if you will. Strain and set aside. 

Once your italian sausage is thoroughly cooked, we add the red sauce, fresh (chopped) basil, & heavy whipping cream

I use a “splash” of whipping cream. Approximately 1/3rd to a half of a cup, but this isn’t required, I just love a slightly creamy red sauce. Stir these ingredients, then bring the heat to low and let simmer with a cover. Move onto your shell filling, you will need a large mixing bowl.

Put your ricotta, raw eggs, shredded cheese and 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream into the bowl and stir. Add salt and sample frequently until it is at the taste you desire. When everything is evenly stirred, start lining your empty noodle shells up in a lightly greased pan. You will begin the stuffing process now.

I like to overly stuff my shells. 

Get the shells lined up similar to this, then take that pan of red sauce and pour it over. Use a spoon to make sure the sauce fills the gaps of the pan and evenly coats the shells. Sprinkle more shredded mozarella over the dish, and place in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes.

Voila!

[hall--o--ween]

[kalymeraskooking]

Shepherd’s Pie

This particular dish holds a special place in my heart because I grew up with my step father having this in the regular rotation of his dinners. It’s interesting, both my fathers were more frequent cooks than my mother. My dad owned restaurants my whole life, and my stepdad made dinner himself at least twice a week. 

Shepherd’s pie is also special because it’s the first meal I ever made Dylan, and I hold it partially responsible for him falling madly in love with me. *Pause for laughs* This is a huge favorite in my house because it’s really easy & cheap to make, REALLY difficult to mess up, and everyone loves it, down to my 1 year old. Always yields a huge portion as well, so you have leftovers for days.

Anywho, shepherd’s pie is a dish that can be done in many different ways, there is LOTS of room for improvisation. This particular pie, I made using ground beef HOWEVER, I have done a vegetarian version with Gardein beef crumbles, I’ve used ground lamb and ground turkey. All of them were truly spectacular. So here we go!

Ingredient List -Instant mashed potatoes (if you’ve got the time to do homemade, go for it) -Cheese, mozarella, cheddar, colby jack, whatever your poison - 2 lbs protein (I will be demonstrating ground beef, but please see above) - 1 chopped yellow or white onion - Frozen bag of corn - Frozen bag of peas - 1 can of creamed corn - Butter - Heavy whipping cream

Forgive me, I got into my rhythm on this recipe and didn’t take a picture of each step so you’ll just have to read. First, put your chopped onion in with your chosen protein. Brown that meat AND season it to your liking. My go to secret weapons for everything are smoked paprika & Adobo. As well as garlic powder, salt, pepper and I believe I threw some hamburger seasoning in there as well. 

Once your meat has browned through and through, strain (if necessary) and place that as the first layer on the bottom of your chosen cooking pan. Now I know I said 2 lbs of protein, but please use your own guide according to the pan you are making the pie in. I use a 13 X 9, and I am cooking enough for one solid layer of meat on the bottom. 

The next step is easy. Take your can of creamed corn and pour it over your meat. Spread the creamed corn evenly throughout the dish. Follow it with a layer of frozen (or fresh) corn, then follow with the peas. You just want to make one even layer of each veggie. My hubby happens to despise peas because he has the taste palette of a 9 year old, so I only put peas on half of the pie for myself.  The last step is preparing your mashed potatoes. If you’re using instant, you want to make a serving for 8 - 10 people. Follow the instructions on the box, except substitute their milk suggestion for heavy whipping cream. Season the potatoes with salt to taste, and at the very end stir in a ton of shredded cheese. 

Spread these mashed potatoes evenly over your vegetable layers. Last but not least, sprinkle two handfuls of cheese over the top of the mashed potatoes. Bake @ 350 for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

[kalymeraskooking]

Bomb Dot Com Salsa

This is one of my favorite things to make because its fresh, tasty and you can put it on a ton of things. I’ve thrown this on shrimp in a lettuce wrap, on top of grilled chicken with a side of cilantro lime rice, as topping for taco night or you can just serve it with chips. 

Ingredients: 

-Diced Tomatoes - Diced Red Onion - Sweet corn (frozen or canned is fine) - Diced BARELY ripe avocado - Cilantro - Minced jalapeno (omit if you don’t want spicy) - Limes or lime juice - Salt

Instructions: 

     Prep is what takes the longest, but it goes in no particular order since all of this will be thrown in the bowl and mixed together. I usually begin by cutting 2-4 limes into wedges and squeezing them into the bowl. It depends on how good your limes are and how citrus-y (?) you like your salsa. Sometimes I get some super dry ones at the store on accident and end up having to use twice as many as usual, so always check your produce! 

Now that you’ve squeezed your limes, try to dice up the remaining tomatoes, red onion, avocado and jalapeno (if applicable). I tend to use grape tomatoes for this but you can use your own preference. Red onion is a very potent flavor and can easily overwhelm any dish, I usually onion dice HALF of a whole. As for the avocados, in the ingredients list you will notice that I put “BARELY ripe”. You need an edible yet still firm avocado, or else you will get something more closely resembling guacamole. Which has happened to me before and it was still delicious anyways. 

As for the corn, I use about half of a cup, and whether its frozen, canned or fresh, I heat it up in a small pan with olive oil, chipotle seasoning & garlic salt on med-high heat until the corn has a little browning to it. Don’t leave it for too long, 5 minutes should be plenty. 

Last but not least, my great love affair of all the herbs; cilantro. I could literally eat cilantro by itself. For me, there can never be enough, so i’ll chop half a bushel into the salsa. But use your own judgement/preference. 

Now that everything is prepped, throw it all into the bowl and mix together. Add salt until it has the right taste for you. Voila, you’re done. 

[kalymeraskooking]

Creamy Pesto Tortellini

Steps are labeled to match the picture number from the previous post

1. ) These are the ingredients I started with for tonight’s creamy pesto tortellinis. Let me start by saying that Classico is probably my least favorite brand of pesto, however it’s what was left at the grocery store so I worked with it. I actually prefer the pesto (and tortellini) that I find at Aldi’s. It’s flavorful on its own, whereas a lot of pesto brands lack that bold flavoring that I love. Think about if you’ve ever ordered a pesto dish at a restaurant, then had to follow it up with another three tablespoons of salt and Parmesan....not my thing. Also Aldi’s is CHEAP, pesto sauce is pretty pricey for the size.

2/3.) Throw on a pot of water to boil for the tortellini. Mince a couple cloves of garlic, or use a spoonful of the pre-minced ones from a jar, along with half of a chopped white or yellow onion. Heat on medium in the pan with a tad bit of olive oil. Stir frequently until that delicious smell starts to fill your house.

4.) Add your meat. I’d like to explain that italian sausage in this recipe can ver easily be substituted with chicken or shrimp. You just need to be mindful of cooking times. This entire recipe comes together (including prep) in under 30 minutes. Shrimp takes about 10 minutes off that, because they are cooked in 3-5 minutes. You don’t want over cooked shrimp. I would recommend if you do substitute with shrimp, remove the shrimp from heat as soon as they are done if you’re waiting for the tortellini to be cooked. If you’re using chicken, I would recommend tenders, so that you can easily chop them up into pieces. Season to taste and follow the recipe as is.

5.) Brown your meat. Try to use a spatula similar to the one pictured in 6.) Firm and narrow, good to mince the sausage up.

7.) Once your meat is browned, if necessary strain some of the oil out. Then mix in your jar(s) of pesto, cream of mushroom (or whatever you prefer), and a splash of heavy whipping cream. You do not need to use cream of mushroom. Just the whipping cream does fine, add cream gradually until you get your preferred taste and consistency.

8.) Throw your cooked tortellini into the pan, stir and let simmer for a few minutes, then serve!

[kalymeraskooking]

[kalymeraskooking]

An Introduction

    I’m 26, I have no professional education in the culinary arts but I have a profound love and appreciation for anything involving food. The kitchen is my favorite place in a home, I’ve been cooking and baking since I was old enough to reach the stove with a step stool as a child. I enjoy making food for myself, my family and especially other people. It’s the easiest way I can express gratitude, love and appreciation.

    This is not a cooking blog. I don’t have recipes and I rarely use them. I do frequent the Pintrest app when I’m in need of inspiration, or if I’m trying something for the first time and need a guideline. If and when I’m doing something like that, I’ll drop the link! Otherwise, the majority of my cooking experience stems from a cooking family, working in restaurants and self teaching. 

[kalymeraskooking]

My daughter’s first birthday cake from June 2019