Rosie Makes Stuffed Pasta Shells.

 

 I'm on a comfort food roll right now.  Today I'm making stuffed pasta shells.  They're creamy and cheesy, filled with cream cheese and fresh spinach, and coated in a hearty tomato sauce, with more cheese, bubbling and golden on top. 

My basic filling is cream cheese and spinach.  Had I planned this, I would have thrown in some ricotta cheese as well, but I didn't have any.  If you have ricotta, use it in addition to the cream cheese.  If you decide to use ricotta, I would let it sit in a cheesecloth-lined sieve for about 20 minutes, pressing the excess liquid out.  

Cook pasta shells according to package directions.  I used 16 or so shells in a 9 x 11-inch pan.  Drain and let cool.

 

For my filling:

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened

2-3 heaping yepsens fresh spinach, steamed a bit and moisture wrung out

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese 

1/2 cup or so grated Parmesan cheese 

kosher salt, to taste

 

No, I don't really measure stuff, except if I'm baking a cake or cookies, where it's all chemistry and you need to be exact.

 

So, for stuffing shells, eyeball it.  If you'd like to add some chopped onion to the mix, go ahead. If you want to throw in a few tablespoons of chopped parsley, do so.

 

And a yepsen, in case you're not familiar with the term, is a unit of measurement, equivalent to two hands held together.  You really can't overdo the spinach, so don't worry about it. It reduces quite a bit when you cook it.  To prepare the spinach for the filling, stem it first, then steam it until it just wilts.  Drain in a colander, let it cool a bit, then wring as much moisture out as you can by hand. 

 

Combine softened cream cheese, drained ricotta, if you're using it, steamed spinach, mozzarella, and salt to taste.  Then I decided to add in the Parmesan cheese.  Mix all until well-blended.

 

For the tomato sauce: 

Again, I'm not measuring.  I'm eyeballing and basically using what's in my fridge that needs to be used.  You can get an idea of amounts by checking out the pics.  

 

Hamburger meat (not quite a pound), browned and seasoned with salt and pepper and oregano

Handful or so of mushrooms, sliced 

Chopped onion

Chopped red and orange peppers (or any color)

1 15-oz. can tomato sauce

minced garlic (2-3 cloves) 

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1-2 TB oregano

 

 In a medium skillet, brown hamburger meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon or spatula.  Before it's totally browned, throw in the sliced mushrooms and cook a few minutes, then add in the onion and pepper and cook another few minutes, stirring occasionally.  Pour in the tomato sauce, add some water to the can, slosh it around, and pour into the mix.  Add in the minced garlic.   Add salt and oregano to taste.

Cook over low heat, stirring every now and then, for 30 minutes or longer, and let the flavors develop. 

  

To assemble:

Cover the bottom of a 9 x 11 baking dish with a layer of the tomato sauce. 

Stuff shells with cream cheese and spinach mixture until filling is all used up, placing shells in single layer on top of sauce.  Spoon more sauce over top of shells then cover with grated mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.  The more cheese, the merrier.

 

Bake at 350° 30-40 minutes, until cheeses are bubbly and golden brown.

 

 

Now for the step-by-steps: 

Brown the hamburger meat.  Along with sliced mushrooms.

 

Add in the onions and peppers.

Tomato sauce in.

 

 

 Simmer away over low heat.

If you want to add in some minced garlic, I won't stop you. 

 

 

Pasta shells are cooked. 

 Filling is ready.  

Sauce is in bottom of baking dish.

Stuff the shells with filling.

Place shells on top of layer of sauce.

Spoon sauce liberally over top of stuffed shells.

Top with slices of mozzarella.

Grate parmesan over the whole shebang. 

And while I'm thinking about it, I think I'll make some garlic parsley toasts to go with it.

Bake until beautiful.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Enjoy.