Stuffed Shells
October 26, 2009
I have planned to make stuffed shells or lasagna on a Sunday night for weeks and weeks, and somehow we always wind up going out, grabbing something quick in the house, or ordering in. This Sunday, I was determined to cook. I knew I’d have a receptive audience, since my in-laws and GG were here, and I thought there was a chance the boys would try it, since it is the familiar (if not well-loved) triad of sauce, cheese, and carb.
For one box of cooked jumbo shells, I made a filling out of 2 15-oz. containers of part-skim ricotta, a couple of eggs, grated Parmesan cheese, and some black pepper, nutmeg, garlic powder, oregano, and red pepper flakes. (I sometimes add a thawed, drained package of frozen chopped spinach to the mix, which is where the nutmeg comes into play. But not this time) About a third of a 28-oz. jar of marinara sauce goes in the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish, and then a layer of shells filled with the cheese mixture goes on top. Repeat another layer of sauce and shells, then put one more layer of sauce and top with shredded part-skim mozzarella. Bake at 350° F for about a half hour, or until sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted and browned. (Well, don’t brown it quite as much as I did…)
Making the shells is super-easy, though the actual stuffing part takes a while. With a salad and some ciabatta rolls, it’s a great family dinner. The adults all loved it, and although I wasn’t able to get the boys to try any, they were content with the bread — A. had some salad, too.
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Filed under: Pasta
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 
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5 Comments
1.
merrie | October 27, 2009 at 7:14 am
Looks like a super-cozy meal. Love the wine in the pic, too.
2.
Amy | October 27, 2009 at 8:28 am
I love making stuffed shells – I use the recipe on the pasta box!
chicken soup for dinner tonight – btw.
In case you care… I use kosheritalia.com to get nice cheeses. (I think that is the URL – my husband does the purchasing – hey I have some asiago still in the freezer…)
3.
Sharon | October 27, 2009 at 10:16 am
I agree with Merrie – that is the picture of coziness!! It all looks delicious!
4.
Ranee @ Arabian Knits | October 27, 2009 at 1:49 pm
This looks wonderful!
I have to tell you that reading this post was the first time it occurred to me that people who keep kosher cannot have meat lasagne. Obviously, I knew about the meat and dairy thing, but I just never thought about it until I saw this and saw no meat in the sauce.
5.
Cathy-wheresmydamnanswer | October 28, 2009 at 6:52 pm
This is always a big hit in my house and I always make extra to send to work with hubby the next day!! reheats great!
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