Stuffed Shells

I made these shells for Christmas and people seemed to like them (well, at least no one threw up or anything) so I thought I would share the recipe. Remember though, by recipe I mean this was the "original" recipe and I usually add more cheese (hello, WI here) and other things. Although that was the 2009 Laura, the 2010 Laura isn't going to do that anymore...or at least not as often.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
8 oz cottage cheese
8 oz ricotta cheese
1 package frozen chopped spinach (thawed)
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese (save about 1/4 cup for the top)
1 egg - beaten
Large shells (I made a whole box but only went through about half...depends on how much you want to stuff in them I guess.)

1. Brown meat and cool. Then add cottage cheese, ricotta, mozzarella and egg.

2. Drain spinach, get as much moisture out as you can. (I rolled it up in a bunch of paper towels and squeezed the water out.) Then pull it apart into small pieces. Add to the rest of the ingredients.

3. Cook shells, cool and stuff with the mixture.

4. Spread some sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan and place shells on it. Then add some more sauce to the tops.


5. Bake at 350 for about 35-40 minutes. Sprinkle the rest of the shredded mozzarella on top for the last 5 minutes of baking.

That's it...easy peasy I tell you! I wish I had a finished product picture to share (so much prettier with the melted cheese, yum!) but I always forget that part or people just eat it right away before I can get any. And that my friends is why I would never make it as a food blog! :)

It wasn't my favorite Italian dish but it was pretty good, I will for sure make them again. Although next time I am going to try ground chicken or turkey, or maybe even cut up chicken breast. Also, the thought of spinach kind of makes me gag, but this was good and a good way to get healthy stuff in your diet....so just don't let that scare you away. :)

Also...sorry about the Christmas decor. I promise one of these days I will get it changed, but right now I'm just too lazy. :) Have a great weekend!