Made By Melissa

I can never make lasagna in my house, unless I plan on eating it alone. See, Nate does not like ricotta cheese, or even cottage cheese. He actually does not like anything with that creamy texture- cream cheese, sour cream etc., but that’s a whole other post.

Anyway, back to my lack of lasagna. Instead, I make stuffed shells. That way, I can stuff half of them with plain mozzarella and keep my husband happy, while still enjoying all of there stuffed, cheesy Italian goodness on my half. I use the cheese filling from Giada’s Stuffed Shells with Arrabbiata Sauce recipe. Someday I will try the arrabbiata sauce, but today was not that day.

I used homemade marinara sauce this time. I have made marinara sauce twice now and am still tweaking the recipe a little, but I will post that when I am happy with it.

Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce

• 12 ounces (1 box) jumbo pasta shells (approximately 36 shells) (I make a 9×13 casserole dish- which is about 3/4 box of shells)
• 1 pound ground beef/ground turkey
• 3-4 cups marinara sauc
• 2 (15-ounce) containers whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 1/3 cups grated Parmesan
• 4 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 3 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint leaves (I do not use)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I use about 1 1/2 - 2 cups total)

Pour 1 cup of marinara sauce over the bottom of 9×13 baking dish. Partially cook the pasta shells in a large pot of boiling salted water until slightly tender, about 8-10 minutes. Drain pasta shells and place in prepared baking dish, spreading them out so that they don’t stick together and allow to cool.

Cook ground beef over medium heat until no longer pink, drain. Stir in remaining marinara sauce, let simmer over medium-low heat while you make the cheese filling. In a medium bowl, stir the ricotta, Parmesan, egg yolks, basil, parsley, mint, salt, and pepper, I add an extra 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella to cheese filling. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Fill the cooked shells with the cheese mixture, about 2 tablespoons per shell. Arrange the shells in the prepared dish. Spoon the meat sauce over the shells, then sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake in the lower third of your oven until the filling is heated through and the top is golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.