I've been making this recipe for years. It uses cream cheese instead of the usual ricotta. It is delicious. It's my go-to recipe when I go to gatherings or to take to someone who is ill or just had a baby. ( I just leave the instructions on how to bake it and pack along some garlic bread and salad). The original recipe uses 3 pounds of meat and makes a lot of shells. I cut it down to be enough for our family. But, you can double or triple it for large get-togethers.
Total Time: 45 minutes to make the shells, 1 hour to bake.
Yield: About 17 or 18 shells
Source: Food Network recipe "Northern Italian Pasta Shell Stuffing"
Link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/northern-italian-pasta-shell-stuffing-recipe.html
Ingredients:
- 1 pkg (10oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- 1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
- 1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 large onion, chopped
- Parmesan (about 1/2 cup)
- salt and pepper
- 1 egg
- 1/2 box (12 oz) jumbo shells
- pasta sauce (I used a 24 oz can)
Steps:
- Cook your pasta shells in salted water until al dente. I usually cook them for a minute less than the directions. You don't want them to get soggy while baking. Drain pasta. Let shells sit on a pan to cool down a little bit before handling.
- Squeeze the water out of the thawed spinach.
- Cook beef and onions until browned and cooked. Drain the grease from the pan.
- Add to a big bowl, along with spinach and cream cheese. Let it sit for a few minutes. The heat from the meat helps to melt the cream cheese a bit and makes it easier to stir. Stir mixture.
- Add Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper (according to taste). Taste your mixture now. If it needs more salt, add it. *Do this before you add your egg.
- Once cooled down a bit, add your egg and stir until mixed.
- Spray a 9 x 9 inch pan with cooking spray. Pour enough pasta sauce in the bottom of your pan to coat the pan.
- Stuff shells with meat mixture. I add about 3 tablespoons or so.
- Put your shells in the pan. Once finished, top shells with remaining sauce. I like it all covered and smothered in sauce.
- Top with Parmesan cheese. Cover with aluminum foil. Place dish on a cookie sheet or some other larger pan to catch any drips.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour.
- Let cool for 10 minutes. Enjoy!
