Tina came over last night to have dinner and drink wine and I made us these stuffed shells. They turned out great! Here's the recipe if you want to try it:
Ingredients
- 1 package Jumbo Pasta Shells16oz
- 32oz Ricotta about 4 cups
- 12oz Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- 2 Eggs
- 4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ¾ cup Shredded Parmesan
- 45oz Spaghetti sauce large jar
- 4cups Fresh Spinach rough chopped and stems removed if you prefer
- 1lb Italian sausage ground or casings removed
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a skillet over medium heat, brown and crumble the sausage. Drain any excess fat and remove from heat.
- Bring water to boil and add the shells. Cook the shells until they are pliable for filling and no more. This means the shells should still feel hard, but they are bendable for stuffing.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, 8oz of mozzarella, ½ cup of parmesan, eggs, oregano, garlic powder, and pepper. Stir in the spinach.
- Coat the bottom of a 9x13in pan with the ½ jar of spaghetti sauce. Spoon the cheese mixture into the shells and place shells open side up, close together in the dish. There will be more shells than will fit into this pan and you can either make a second smaller pan (5×8 is good) or freeze for future use. Sometimes the shells also break in the box so this is fine.
- Add the rest of the spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle the sausage over the top of the shells. Then sprinkle with the remaining 4oz of mozzarella and ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese.
- Cover with aluminum foil, preferably tented so it doesn't stick to the cheese. Bake for 25-40 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. The more packed/full the casserole dish, the longer it will take to bake. You know it's ready when the cheesy is melted and bubbly. Look for bubbles along the sides of the dish.
- If you like a cheesy crust, you may broil it uncovered for 3-5 minutes (watch closely). Let stand 10 minutes before serving.