STUFFED SHELLS

Recently I have found some really great food blogs with lots of new recipes I want to try. (the key word here is "new" recipes... ) My favorite blogs to look at are the ones with great pictures! On Sunday I tried a stuffed shell recipe that I found and they were so good! I think the main reason they were so delicious was the homemade sauce... usually I just buy the marinara sauce in a jar. After trying this recipe, it may be hard to make any pasta again with sauce out of a jar. I was surprised how quick and easy the sauce was too! Here's a picture I snapped and the recipe! One other plus was that everyone loved them, even my picky eaters!


2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¼ Cup finely chopped white onion
1 lb lean ground beef
Pinch salt and pepper

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small white onion, finely chopped
½ Cup finely chopped bell pepper of choice (red, green or orange)
4 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
Small can tomato sauce
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
¼ teaspoon dry oregano
Pinch of granulated sugar
8 large fresh basil leaves, stacked, rolled and thinly sliced (or you can chop it)

1 Box large pasta shells

15 oz container of Ricotta Cheese
½ Cup grated parmesan cheese
1 ½ Cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 Cup reserved cooked ground beef
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 egg, beaten

¼ Cup parmesan cheese
1 ½ Cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Place olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions for 3-5 minutes or until softened. Add ground beef, salt and pepper. Cook until browned. Reserve 1 Cup beef for cheese filling. Set aside.

2. Place olive oil in another large skillet or pot over medium heat. Saute onion, bell peppers, and garlic for 3-5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, pepper, oregano, sugar and basil leaves. Reduce heat to low and add beef. Simmer for at least 30 minutes.

3. Cook pasta shells according to package directions. Drain. I like to lay out a large piece of foil on my counter top, sprayed with cooking spray and lay each shell on the foil. Lightly spray the shells with cooking spray.

4. Place ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, beef, salt, pepper and egg in a large bowl. Mix until well combined.

5. Place a few spoonfuls of meat sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spread to coat bottom. Fill each shell with about 2-3 Tablespoons of filling and line in baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over shells. Sprinkle with parmesan then mozzarella Cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce bubbly.

6-8 servings