Stuffed Shells

By br5496

This was a pampered chef recipe that I have altered to my taste

**cooking tip for garlic, If you don't like using a garlic mincer, use your cheese shredder, it is faster anyway.
I made this once and I realized I did not have any shells, I found some lasagna noodles in the pantry, so I cooked them Ala dente and rolled the cheese inside the noodles instead of using the shells

Ingredients

• 20 jumbo pasta shells uncooked
• 1 container of Ricotta cheese (15 oz)
• 5 oz thawed spinach WELL DRAINED (more or less to taste)
• 2 cups of shredded Italian cheese (any kind is fine)
• 1 cup of half and half divided
• 1/4 FRESH Parmesan or Feta Cheese
• 1 clove of garlic minced or chopped
• 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning (basil, oregano, etc)
• 1/2 cup of shredded Italian cheese for topping
• 1 jar or can of spaghetti sauce (24-26 oz)

Preparation

Step 1

In a large pot bring to a boil some lightly salted water cook the shells Ala dente
(a few minutes less than package instructions) you want them still a little firm but done. make sure you stir them well until they get going good or they will stick to the bottom. I usually cook extra because some break during boiling.
Drain the pasta, while the pasta cools, mix cheese the well drained spinach, 1/4 cup of half and half, garlic and seasonings. Mix well. If it is too hard to stir add a little more half and half
In a separate bowl mix the spaghetti sauce with the rest of the half and half
Mix well
Grease a 13x9 or similar size baking dish. Reserve 1 cup of sauce and add the rest of the sauce to the baking dish.
Stuff the shells with the cheese mixture and set on top of the sauce.
Top with the reserved 1 cup of sauce.

Cover and bake in a preheated 350 over for 45 minutes.
Remove the cover and and add the remaining shredded cheese
Bake for 5 additional minutes or until the cheese has melted
Let stand 15 minutes before serving