Crab Cannelloni

The days have been flying by! I would like to apologize for my lack of blogging lately, I had gone home for a few weeks and celebrated my Bachelorette party and my Wedding Shower! Once I came back I had come down with a nasty respiratory virus and fevers Unfortunately I have had this recipe ready to post for weeks but just haven’t come around to feeling up to the post! 

Fear not, I have kept you waiting long enough! And if you’re a fan of seafood you will love this dish! The Bechamel Sauce is perfect with the fresh crab and ricotta cheese. I made steamed asparagus, a side salad, and garlic bread (I love my carbs!) to go with this meal. The Cannelloni itself is a bit heavy so the salad is a perfect pair! I hope you enjoy this little Italian trip to the sea and be ready to impress your family or friends! If you are cooking for 1-2 people, the extras are great for freezing and also left-over!

Start the Bechamel sauce by melting the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for about a minute, then whisk in the flour for about 2 minutes and until thickened. Add milk one cup at a time to slowly incorporate. Whisk in salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Cook on medium or medium-low for about 10 minutes and do not boil. 

Cook the pasta shells in salted water and boil about 8-10 minutes or according to package directions. Be gentle when taking them out to prevent splitting of the pasta. It is pretty delicate!

While the pasta is cooking, take a large bowl and mix the ricotta, 3/4 cup cheese, egg yolk, basil, parsley, crab, salt, and pepper until well combined. 

Preheat your oven to 375. Spray a 9×13 pan with PAM and add one cup of the Bechamel sauce evenly on the bottom. Fill in the pasta shells with the cheese and crab mixture and place evenly on the pan. Top the shells with more Bechamel sauce and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Garnish with a sprinkle of parsley and serve! 

I highly advise you to only buy real crab! I know it’s a little pricey, but it’s worth it! I opted out of boiling crab and then shelling it, I just bought the pre-shelled crab in a container mostly found on the shelf of the fresh seafood section.

I hope you enjoy this meal as much as me!! 

What you’ll need:

For the Bechamel Sauce:
5 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
pinch of fresh grated nutmeg

For the Manicotti:
1 box Manicotti pasta shells (12-15 count)
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Regiano cheese, divided
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
1 lb lump crab meat, inspected for shell pieces
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Derived from Confections of a Foodie Bride .

Taco Bake

So I have to apologize for the lack of blogging lately. It has been a very busy month, and we are getting ready to move to Jacksonville, FL! Another adventure awaits us and I am excited to see what holds us in Jacksonville. We will be there for the next 3 years and it’s a relief to be able to know we will live somewhere longer than 8 months

Now to the FOOD! I saw this recipe in a magazine and it reminds me of my childhood, my mom used to make something like this for us when I was in my teens. Needless to say, I was pretty excited about it. This meal is super easy, all it takes is some skillet work, then building like a lasagna!

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a large skillet, cook your beef and onions until browned then drain. Add garlic, cook about one more minute. Add salsa, beans, enchilada sauce, chilies, taco seasoning, and pepper, stir together and turn heat to low. Sit covered for a few minutes.

Spread about a cup of the meat mixture onto a greased 13x9in baking dish. Layer with two tortillas, a third of the remaining meat mixture and about a cup of cheese. Repeat until you run out of the meat mixture. Top with cheese.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes, Uncover and sprinkle with some crushed tortillas chips if desired (I ex-nayed that to save a little bit of calories since this dish is already pretty hardy). Cook for another 10-15 mins until cheese is melted. Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.

Top with sour cream, tomatoes, guacamole, olives, if desired. And of course, ENJOY!

What you’ll need:

1 1/4 lbs ground beef
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups of your favorite salsa
1 can (16 oz) refried beans
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
1 package of taco seasoning
6 flour tortillas (10 in size)
3 cups (12 oz) Mexican shredded cheese
2 cups crushed tortillas (if desired)

Sliced black olives, sour cream, diced tomatoes, & guacamole if desired for toppings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello world!

The Beginning

This is my first post on the blog. I thought I would upload my favorite picture of me and my fiance RJ to introduce myself and give you a glimpse of my life. I hope this blog will bring joy and inspiration to you and if not, I will still enjoy the simple pleasures of cooking and unwinding my day  I will mostly post my ventures in cooking with their recipes and I will attempt to bring out my creativity and longing for photography, but I have little to no experience in it and have a simple Exilim digital camera (for now :] )