Happy mother's day! I'll pretend I'm on a news camera and shout out "Hi Mom!"

I think I'll enjoy Mother's Day more when I'm a grandma, or at least when my kids are older. My son has recently been having trouble sleeping through the night. It's 4AM now, I'm holding him, and I'm tired. Hopefully we'll sleep enough to make it to church. Something I ate yesterday made me itchy, so I wasn't sleeping well to begin with. Was it the Cranberry Drink Concentrate I mistook for Cranberry Juice Concentrate? (stupid label, not what I wanted to buy) Or was it the Amaranth Mini-Ridges with Safflower oil but no apparent allergy triggers? Don't know if I want to have either one again to learn the answer.

Yesterday I had a craving for stuffed pasta, so I pulled out my Tinkyada grand shells and set about finding a way to stuff them with something compliant. That something turned out to be ground buffalo risotto with plenty of nutritional yeast (the cheese). It seemed a bit strange to stuff rice shells with rice, but mine were quite heavy on the buffalo. They ended up being quite good! My husband said they were restaurant quality.

Nonnie-O Stuffed Shells

-Start Risotto:

1 Onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic (I was out so I added garlic powder later)

Oregano, thyme and basil (my oregano was fresh!, just added a bunch of each to taste)

Olive Oil

-Saute all of the above until onions are soft-

1 cup arborio or medium grain rice

-Add to oil, saute until opacity changes-

2 cans (4 cups) chicken broth

-add broth to rice as needed over time until it is absorbed and the rice is cooked.

-start the tomato sauce now:

Olive oil with garlic and spices, saute till fragrant, add strained tomatoes and salt if needed. Simmer in saucepan as everything else cooks.

-start water boiling for shells

1-2 pounds ground buffalo (or and ground meat), browned with salt (...I added salt everywhere b/c my Shelton's chicken broth doesn't have much if any.)

-once risotto and meat are done (drain fat off if necessary), combine

add a little of the sauce to the risotto, keep on low until absorbed, if not thick or sticky enough add some sweet rice flour.

Add plenty of nutritional yeast (this is the cheese, be generous, I probably used a half cup total.

-meanwhile cook the shells, tinkyada grand shells for about 18 minutes, drain and add cool water to make them cool enough to handle.

Stuff the shells, top with sauce and more yeast, bake at 350 F for 10 minutes or more.

Yummy! A bit involved, but for that special craving, or that special day, it's good stuff.