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Hearty Stuffed Shells

A great Italian type dish to make on the weekend for a mid-week meal! 

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword Hearty Stuffed Shells
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 375 kcal

Ingredients

  • 18 jumbo pasta shells
  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1 small onion finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 3 oz. fresh baby spinach
  • 24 oz. pasta sauce
  • 1/2 C. whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 1/4 C. small curd cottage cheese
  • 1 large egg beaten
  • 1/4 C. Parmesan cheese
  • 4 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

  1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add a good pinch of salt and the shells and cook according to pkg. directions. Drain, rinse to cool, and set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, brown the ground beef in a skillet, drain the grease, stir in the onion and cook for 5-6 minutes till tender, stir in the garlic and spinach. Cook until spinach has wilted and add in all but 1 C. of the pasta sauce. Remove from heat.
  3. In a bowl, stir together the ricotta, cottage cheese, egg and Parmesan cheese.
  4. Spread the remaining cup of pasta sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish (I used individual serving size ones since I was freezing mine).
  5. Take each shell and fill with 1 T. of the ricotta mixture, then a good spoonful of the meat mixture, place in the casserole dish, repeat with remaining shells. Top with the mozzarella cheese and bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly. 3 stuffed shells per serving.