The next installment: Annie’s saves the day.

Now that I’ve found a happy canned spaghetti, I need to figure out how to make that orange, cheesy tomato sauce. Perhaps that will be the next installment. Meanwhile, I found some recipes starting with a box of Annie’s Original Shells & Cheddar. I’ll give that a shot.

I did… I gave it a shot. I got a couple of boxes of Annie’s pasta; Original Shells and Cheddar and Shells and Real Aged Cheddar.Here’s the recipe I went for, copied from Annie’s web site.

Cheesy Tomato Shells

1 box Annie’s Original Shells & Cheddar

2 ripe Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced (It being winter, I used a can of diced tomatoes, drained.)

1-2 large cloves garlic, finely minced

1-2 tbsp. olive oil

¼ cup low-fat milk

1 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Boil pasta shells according to directions on box. Drain and set aside.
Sauté garlic in oil over medium heat, stirring, until just beginning to color.
Add tomatoes and cook a minute or two longer, stirring, until soft.
Add cooked shells, mix together, and remove from heat.
Whisk together contents of cheese packet and milk until blended; fold into shells and tomatoes, add basil, season to taste, and serve.
Serves 2 grownups or 3 small children

I tried the first box first — Original Shells and Cheddar — but that used white cheddar and milk… adding the tomatoes didn’t make it orange, but mildly tomatoey and pretty good tasting.

Nothing to do but move on to the second, Annie’s Shells and Real Aged Cheddar. I did wait a couple weeks; I needed to take an Annie’s break.

Back in the kitchen, the “real aged” cheddar was orange, so I got me an orange sauce. Now that I have mastered the orange sauce, I am a happy camper. It doesn’t hurt that this stuff is moderately healthy and tastes good.

Yummy lunch.