Cooking with Leftovers- Heart Shaped Pasta and Cannelloni

Every once in a while, I do a pantry and fridge overhaul... you know the kind... where you clear out everything from the back of your fridge. I always find very random ingredients that I buy to try, and never really use. This time around I found a box of cannelloni shells that I was never really inspired to make... but it was about time.

To find out how to make heart shaped pasta (the easy way)... scroll down further

Ingredients:

Cheaters Bolognese Sauce (I took a few short cuts, and deviated from what would be known as a 'traditional' sauce)

- 2 Roma Tomatoes, diced (thats all I had :)

- 1/4 cup oil (vegetable or olive, your choice)

- 1/3 cup of vegetable stock

- 1 tbsp tomato paste (I sometimes substitute ketchup, it adds a little bit of sweetness)

- 1 Large White Onion, diced

- 1 Red Pepper, de-veined and diced

- 500 g lean ground beef

- 2 fresh basil leaves

- 2 tbsp fresh parsley

- 1 tsp oregano

- 3 cloves of garlic, whole

- salt and pepper to taste

- chili flakes to taste (optional)

- 1 package of quick bake cannelloni shells (also known as manicotti shells)

* My deep dish only fits 12 shells, you may need more or less depending on the size of your dish

- 1 - 250 g package of cream cheese

- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded (1/2 cup goes into the filling, 1/2 cup used to sprinkle on top before baking)

- 2 tbsp parmesan (if you don't have it, its okay to omit it)

- 1/4 cup fresh spinach, finely chopped

- 1 egg

- 2 tbsp dry Italian bread crumbs

- dash of salt and pepper

- 5-10 Cannelloni Shells

- Heart shaped cookie cutters - or pretty much any shape cookie cutter

Directions:

- In a deep skillet or pot, heat oil over medium heat.

- Add onions and peppers, you'll want to cook this for about 2-3 minutes, until the onions turn transparent. Add tomatoes, and cook for an addition 2-3 minutes.

- Add chicken stock, tomato paste, basil, parsley, oregano, garlic, and salt and pepper. Increase your heat to medium high, or until your sauce begins to bubble. Reduce heat to a medium-low and cover. Allow the ingredients to cook at temperature for 20 - 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

- I used this handy little attachment that came with my blender. You can use any grinder, food processor, or blender. The purpose is to grind the ingredients so they create a smoother, more palatable sauce.

- Allow your sauce to cool almost completely before using the grinder. From a past kitchen mishap, I learned my lesson that the sauce goes flying out of the machine.... it wasn't pretty.
- I only ran my sauce through the grinder once, if you prefer a 'smoother' sauce, feel free to run it through again. Return your sauce to a pot, and allow to simmer until ready to use-- this brings out more flavor.
- The ground beef is completely optional. You can even substitute ground pork or turkey, its up to you.

- I browned my beef before I added it to the sauce. I added a tsp of oil and used the same deep skillet as I made the sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.

- Once the beef browned, I drained any excess fat, and added it to my tomato sauce base. I returned the sauce to a simmer.
For the filling:

- You can also make the filling the night before, and store it in the fridge to use later on. This saves time and doesn't make the process seem as lengthy