stuffed shells

oh stuffed shells. i love them so much. tender, al dente, little pasta shells filled with creamy cottage cheese and spinach, smothered in homemade marinara sauce. i'm drooling just thinking about this. luckily, it's what we're having for dinner! you could use ricotta, but i use cottage cheese because there's a lactose- free cottage cheese and i have yet to see lactose-free ricotta. and cottage cheese is less expensive.

stuffed shells stuffing-

1 large container of preferred cottage cheese- i use two small tubs- two small= 1 large
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1 pack of frozen chopped spinach,
2 eggs
salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder
1/2 tsp of granulate sugar
1 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
homemade marinara sauce- see this post for recipe
2 boxes of jumbo shell pasta- i always make two boxes- shells break and my hubby LOVES shells

defrost and drain the spinach. set aside. blend the cottage cheese until smooth- i use my trusty immersion blender- and pour into a medium- sized mixing bowl. add the parmesan, drained spinach- as dry as possible- and season. taste and season if needed. i add sugar to balance the slightly bitter taste of the spinach and the saltiness of the parmesan. add the eggs and combine. set aside.

make pasta according to instructions on package. drain and allow to cool. stuff pasta shells with cheese mixture.

preheat oven to 375⁰F. cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish, about an inch high, with sauce and place the stuffed shells into the pan, with the openings facing up. lightly cover the stuffed shells with more marinara sauce and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. bake for about 20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted. turn off oven and leave the dish inside for another 10 minutes so the cheese turns nice and brown.

enjoy with garlic bread and a salad!

until next post- maggie