Comfort Food Recipe: Easy Stuffed Shells
With winter weather looming around us this week (finally!) and the cold weather settling in for the next few months now is the time to start making those warm, comfort food recipe. You know what I am talking about, those yummy filling dishes that we all crave during the winter months. I love a warm and filling casserole on cold winter nights or better yet, pasta! Yes, pasta, with a nice crisp salad and some warm, fresh out of the oven crusty garlic bread!
Today on the blog, I have a recipe that is perfect for cold winter nights and makes enough for a large crowd OR an extra pan to freeze. I always have a few of those dollar store baking pans on hand so if I have enough of a recipe to make a double batch, I simply freeze the other half and then bake in the oven as usual if we have a busy night of after school activities or if I simply don’t feel like cooking.
Easy Stuffed Shells Ingredients –
1 box of jumbo shells
8 oz container of ricotta
8 oz container of small curd cottage cheese
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese + a few extra handfuls to sprinkle on top of the shells
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
2 9×13 baking pans (I like to have a few disposable pans on hand as I mentioned above and these are great if you would like to share with a friend too!)
Directions –
#1. Bring a large pot of water and a tablespoon of olive oil to a boil. Add in the box of jumbo shells and cook according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cool water.
#2. While the shells are cooking, combine the ricotta cheese, cottage cheese and shredded mozzarella cheese in a large bowl, mixing well.
#3. Pour 1/2 cup of the pasta suace into the bottom of the pan and spread out evenly.
#4. Once the shells are cooked and cool enough to handle, begin scooping the cheese mixture into each shell and placing into the baking pan. Repeat until you’ve used all the shells.
#5. Once all the shells are stuffed, spread some suace on the tops and sprinkle with extra shredded cheese.
#6. Bake on 350 degrees for 45 minutes, covered.
*Serve with salad and garlic bread. If making a second pan, cover with plastic wrap and freeze 1-2 months until ready to use.
