Simmered in Tradition With Ragu

Thank you to Ragu for sponsoring today’s post and inspiring me to remake a family recipe!

Keeping traditions with my family as we get older is so important to me. My family tries to make a great effort to have dinner with each other at least a few times a month. Now that I have a brand new baby niece it is even more important to keep family traditions. We are a huge fan of pasta dishes, so my sister and I decided to get together and cook dinner for everyone.

I love the story behind Ragu and what a strong woman Aussanta was. On their website you can find their story along with awesome recipes and the many different flavors that Ragu offers. We honestly use Ragu every time I make pasta dishes because there are so many different flavors you can get, and it's a bang for your buck.

Reasons to believe in Aussanta, her sauce and her story: 
+Her Italian Heritage
+Ragu’s Commitment to Aussanta’s High Standards
+The Process – Stemming from a family recipe, Slowly simmered to add layers of flavor
+No.No.No (no artificial flavors, no artificial flavors and no high fructose corn syrup)
+Farm Grown ingredients
+Affordability

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Stuffed Shells featuring Ragu Marinara Sauce

Ingredients
Jumbo pasta shells (We used the whole box in case any broke)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp fresh garlic

12oz skim-milk ricotta cheese

1 cup shredded skim-milk mozzarella cheese
4 cups fresh spinach chopped
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 tbsp fresh basil - chopped
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
1-1/4 cups Ragu traditional or marinara sauce

Directions

+Cook the pasta as directed on the box

+Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 

+Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the garlic and cook until it begins to brown. +Add the spinach to pan, cook for about four minutes

+In a large mixing bowl, stir together the rest of the ingredients except the pasta sauce.

+ Pour 1/2 cup of the Ragu sauce into the bottom of a baking dish.

+ Stuff each shell with a spoonful of the mixture and place in the dish.

+Cover with the remaining sauce and bake covered with aluminum foil for 25 minutes. 

+Remove the foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes. 

Recipe adapted from this
one_______________________________________________________________________________

Needless to say, this dish was a huge hit!

Visit the campaign landing page to discover the Ragu heritage story.

What are some of your family traditions that you will keep for years to come?

New Traditions.

I don't know about you, but I am so excited for the upcoming holidays. I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and then the madness of Black Friday and Christmas shopping starts. I love buying the perfect gifts for my family, but sometimes it makes shopping overwhelming. Now that Joe and I are married and my other sisters are grown, my family decided to do something different this year for Christmas gifts..

This year we are doing a secret Santa with our family. I'm excited to do something new and fun this year. I have also been hunting on Pinterest for some new Christmas traditions that Joe and I can start this year and years to come.

I'm the kind of person that loves Black Friday, not about getting the best thing or fighting with someone over an awesome deal though. It's just been a tradition to go out with Joe and my sisters and even if we don't find much it's so much fun. We always put our Christmas tree up on the Friday after Thanksgiving and I am really looking forward to putting that up!

It's such an awesome feeling to know that soon enough (no, not yet) we will start our own family and get to make new traditions. 

Next month marks Joe and I being a couple for five years and getting engaged last year. We have a lot to be thankful for and I can't wait to keep old traditions, and start new ones.

This holiday season I want to...

Bake a lot. Pinterest has me pinning alll of the sweets.

Decorate Christmas cookies.

Take late night drives to see all of the Christmas lights.

Revisit the Christmas Town event where Joe and I got engaged last year.

Celebrate being a couple for five years.

Watch Christmas movies with hot cocoa. ALL the time.

Buy each other pajamas to exchange on Christmas eve and wear.

Donate toys or clothes to people who need some uplifting.

Send out Christmas cards as a married couple. Still need to do this ASAP!


I hope you all get to spend the day with your families tomorrow! Have an amazing Thanksgiving! What are your plans for the holidays? Are you doing anything new or different to start traditions?