Another Winner of a Dinner!!

The Food Network website is not my go-to place for recipes. I'm not really sure why, because I love to watch it on TV. But since the flank steak recipe I tried Friday night was so good, I thought I'd try them out one more time. I was in the mood for something Italian, and a good friend of mine has been telling me about his stuffed shells recipe for some time now - so it was time for me to give it a try. I found a great recipe from Giada and I have to say I was really impressed with how good it was! So check out the recipe here and keep reading for a play by play with some tips.

I followed the recipe verbatim, and it was by no means a challenging meal to put together. It did take me about twice as long than the indicated prep time to get everything in the oven, so make sure you give yourself time if you're on a schedule. I think it would be more time efficient if you put the pasta water on to boil and then chop your fresh herbs for the cheese filling and garlic for the sauce, putting the shells in the water when it comes to a boil. Because it takes only 4-6 minutes for the shells to cook, you can use that time to combine all the ingredients for the filling.

Best Dinner Ever

My mom and dad came into town for the weekend and I wanted to impress them with my cooking skills. I know "they" say you're not supposed to try out new recipes on guests, but I just can't help myself! I always think that's part of the fun in entertaining, so I went on an Internet search for a great new recipe to experiment on my parents. Of course, using some of my new-to-me ingredients would be a plus and it just so happens I found the perfect recipe.

This really was one of the best dinners I've ever made. And I admittedly can not take credit for any of the good results...other than I followed the recipe correctly. I found the recipe on the food network website, and I happened across it as I was looking for a recipe for flank steak. I rounded the dish out with a heaping helping of quinoa and a glass of homemade sangria. Delicious!