For Sher

Last April when Sher's cousins came for dinner she made some stuffed shells with lamb, feta and spinach. I thought that they sounded delicious and planned on making them. Well, time passed and I hadn't made them yet so today I made them in memory of Sher. I brought home the groceries and while I was unloading them, Willow apparently wanted to make sure that she was involved in WCB this weekend. She jumped up on the table and dashed into the grocery bag. I know that she likes bags but she has never jumped on the kitchen table to get in one before! Plus, it's Weekend Cat Blogging so I should have a cat picture posted. Thank you, Willow! Anyway, the shells really were delicious! Per Sher's comment on that post, I did add some golden raisins and she was right - they added a sweetness that was "great with the richness of the lamb and the tangy feta cheese." Thank you, Sher, for another wonderful recipe!

Pasta Shells Stuffed With Lamb, Feta Cheese, And Spinach

(Williams-Sonoma Complete Pasta Book)

1-1/4 pound ground lamb
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
8 ounces spinach stemmed and coarsely chopped (or use defrosted chopped spinach squeezed dry)
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
3-1/2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
18 jumbo pasta shells
3 Tablespoons roasted pine nuts

Cook the lamb in a skillet over medium heat, breaking it up until it's no longer pink. Drain off excess fat and add garlic and spinach and cook until spinach is wilted--about 2 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Then add the lemon zest and feta cheese and toss to mix. Add salt and pepper if necessary.

Cook the shells according to package direction in well salted water until almost al dente. Drain carefully and run cold water over them.Fill each pasta shell with the filling and place in a baking pan. You can keep it in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap, until you're reading to bake it. When ready to bake, top with half of the spiced red sauce and the pine nuts. Bake until heated through, but not browned. Serve on individual plates and top with more sauce.

Spiced Red Sauce

1 cup canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Combine ingredients and bring to a boil. stir and set aside until ready to use it on the shells.

For all the other cat activities this weekend, be sure to check out:

The Friday Ark at The Modulator

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Weekend Cat Blogging is being hosted by Kashim & Othello

at Momma Astrid's Food Blog

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Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos is at Pet's Garden Blog

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Carnival of the Cats is being hosted by Amar and Luna at Catsynth