Somewhat Stuffed Shells

Somewhat Stuffed Shells: Say that three times fast! This was something I had a sudden craving for a few days ago and happened to have the ingredients for. It is high in calories, although the recipe below should feed about six or seven people and you can substitute part skim cheese for the ricotta.

The stuffing is quite similar to what I put in my lasagna so if you have a favourite ricotta filling, you can use it here just fine. If you try this recipe though, leave me some feedback. It's always nice to hear from you.

You will need:

1 12oz box of jumbo shells

32oz ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese + 1/2 cup reserved
5 oz Parmesan-reggiano cheese
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt

2 cups marinara sauce (jarred or homemade; either is fine).

Preheat oven to 350F.

In large pot bring 4 quarts of water to boil with 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook shells for 10 minutes. Remove from water and set aside to drain.

In large bowl mix eggs and ricotta. Add Parmesan-reggiano, mozzarella, salt, and parsley.

Place shells in baking dish with open side up. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling into each shell.

Or

Place drained shells in baking dish open side up and pour over cheese mixture until the entire dish is covered. Don't worry about filling each individual shell; when you spoon out the dish, each serving will get an equal amount of cheese and sauce anyway.

Pour two cups of marinara sauce over entire dish and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese on top.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Let cool for 10 minutes. Serve with salad and garlic bread.

Until next time,
<3 Jess