Thursday, December 17, 2009

3 Cheese Stuffed Shells

I love cooking Italian foods. Almost as much as I love eating them. One thing I have never eaten, even at my very first job as a waitress at Amalfi's, is stuffed shells. So, I decided that I was going to take a chance at making these.

And my family loved them. Even my very picky 7 year old.

Ingredients needed:

1 package of Jumbo Shells (I used Walmart brand)
4 cups of Mozzarella Cheese
4-6oz fresh Parmesan cheese
16oz Ricotta Cheese
1 Large egg
2Tbsp Oregano
1Tbsp Parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste
Garlic Powder or Fresh minced garlic
Your brand of Spaghetti Sauce

(I made a homemade mushroom and Italian sausage sauce with wine. I will post that later. For now, a good jar will be fine)

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes


1. Boil the shells according to the directions. I boiled mine for 14 minutes. They were cooked well, but firm enough for me to move around and fill.

2. While they are cooking, mix together the following:
  • Ricotta Cheese
  • 2 cups Mozzarella
  • Parmesan Cheese
  • Egg
  • Parsley
  • Oregano
  • Salt and pepper
  • Garlic Powder or fresh minced Garlic to taste

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3. Drain Shells and rinse with cool water, so they are not to hot to handle. Once they have cooled enough to touch, spray 2 9x13 pans with butter spray
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4. Preheat oven to 350

5. Fill each shell with 2 heaping Tbsp of the cheese mixture and place side by side in the dish
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6. Cover the shells with your pasta sauce
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7. Place tinfoil over the shells and bake for 20 minutes

8. Remove from oven, sprinkle with 1 cup of Mozzarella and place back in the oven, uncovered, for 10 minutes. (since this makes 2 dishes, the last cup is for the last dish)
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This meal is AWESOME. And makes an awful lot, so it might make sense for you to half the recipe. It sounds scarier than it is. I was amazed at how easy it really was, and how much fun I had making it.

Now, you can prep this the night before, and just throw it in the oven the next day. Cuts some of the stress.

3 comments:

  1. I made these, along with Hillybilly Housewife's Buttery Bread Sticks (http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/butterdips.htm) and it was a fantastic meal!!

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  2. Yay! I am glad you liked it. I am going to have to try those buttery breads sticks. Yummy!

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  3. Ground or dried oregano?

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