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Friday, January 1, 2010

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!

17 comments:

Kate said...

Oh my WORD they look yummy.

He & Me + 3 said...

Those look great. I just buy mine from Schwans...but maybe I should try your little recipe. Actress would love to help make them for sure.

The Unkept Cook said...

YUM! I thought you said you couldn't/didn't cook?! Liar :) These look amazing! I'll definitely make them--though not for A--he doesn't "do" cheese. It's tough trying to cook around a kid who doesn't "do" cheese! anyway, thank you for sharing :)

Bethany said...

I LOVE this recipe. I make something similar, except I use chicken and top with a alfredo sauce (half 2% milk/ half chicken broth). So very yummy. I had forgotten about it though. Thanks for the reminder. :)

Unknown said...

Okay those look awesome. If it wasn't almost midnight I would be in the kitchen right now. :)

Lori said...

Those look so good!! Thanks for sharing.

Sarah said...

omg...they look super yummy i am def. gonna make them!! thanks for the recipe!!

Katrina said...

Stuffed shells with spinach are definitely at the top of my favorite list!! Soooooo good!

TheFitHousewife said...

Those look great!

I usually make them with ground chicken or no meat at all and they are just as yummy! I find ground chicken easier than chopped chicken breast!

Jenny said...

I use almost this exact recipe but I usually use italian sausage instead of ground beef. Yum. This post made me hungry. And I loved seeing the Christmas decor. I would be so tempted to use the polka dot border for longer...it is adorable and so cheerful. I came to visit you from Jen's blog, BTW.

CM said...

Love the stuffed shells...so yummy. I haven't made those in a while.

By the way, the song playing is "Over the Rainbow" by Iz. I LOVE this song!!!

PotterMama said...

I'm so glad you posted this recipe! I love stuffed shells and I havnt had them in FOREVER! I'm going to make these this coming week!

Carrie said...

Ummmm, sounds and looks delish! Gonna have to give these a try very soon :)

McMommy said...

I love that these have spinach in them! It's a great way to squeeze in some healthy goodness and the kids won't freak out about it!
Can't wait to try them...

Mrs. B said...

ok, i don't even like spinach, but those look really good! i'm so super jealous of your skills in the kitchen. i have none. and don't worry about the christmas decor, it's still lovely! and lazy is lovely, too.

Lindsay said...

Those look great! My husband is going to be away for a couple weeks for work so maybe when he gets home I can surprise him with these. He would be impressed : )

DCWorking said...

yum these sounds great.... Ive made stuffed shells before but never put spinach in them... Ill have to try that next time :)