Now that fall is here (and with it, some cooler temperatures), I find myself much more inclined to turn the oven on for meals. This recipe is great whether prepared vegetarian or with ground beef, turkey, or Italian sausage. I typically serve this dish with a salad, garlic bread, and either broccoli, asparagus, or green beans. Chow! (September 29, 2015)
Ingredients:
- 1 12-oz box of jumbo shells
- 16 oz ricotta cheese (or a combination of 8 oz ricotta and 8 oz cottage cheese)
- 1/2 c Parmesan cheese
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1-2 jars of spaghetti sauce (I usually find that 1 jar is not quite enough sauce, so I like to have a spare jar on-hand to if I need to add a little more)
- 1 lb of ground and browned meat of your choice (if using) such as ground beef, turkey, or Italian sausage
Directions:
- In a large stock pot, prepare shells according to package directions, but reduce the time by one-half. Drain and then allow to cool on a cookie sheet or waxed paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs and cheeses; then fold in the oregano, parsley, salt, and pepper. Lastly, add the browned meat of your choice.
- Add enough spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Fill each shell with ~2 TBSP of the cheese-egg-meat mixture (I typically spoon it in or fill a ziplock bag with the mixture and cut one corner off to pipe it in). Arrange the filled shells in the pan (as shown in the photo). Top with the rest of the sauce and bake at 350F for 30 minutes (or until hot and bubbly).