Stuffed Shells for Christmas Dinner

Stuffed shells are one of those classic baked pasta dishes that many people pass on making- simply because they can be very labor intensive. They contain practically the exact same ingredients you would use in a simple baked ziti- just organized differently. The thought of cramming individual portions of cheesy filling into each one of those shells is the heavy lifting part- however, there are ways to speed things along.

The freshest vegetables and herbs...

The freshest vegetables and herbs are the ones growing in your backyard.

Last year's garden managed to produce a small amount of produce after a major setback- the day after I planted my seedlings, a 72 hour nonstop downpour hit my neighborhood, leaving my newly planted garden partially flooded. Several plants just didn't make it, and the survivors never fully recovered. I was lucky to get what I did from it. This year is shaping up to be a better crop - although I planted probably three weeks later than I should have, my plants appear to be well on their way to giving me a large amount of produce to work with in the kitchen...