Stuffed Shells

Our family can go through pounds of pasta weekly if we don't watch ourselves! Stuffed shells are easy and one of our favorites. I don't have exact measurements- the best I can tell you is to get the filling to a nice pliable consistency and you should be good. We do them a few different ways:

Cheesy Italian Sausage Stuffing
1 lb of ground Italian sausage - browned
Mozzarella - large bag
Ricotta - large container
Shredded Parmesan - small bag
Seasoning - salt, pepper, fresh basil, garlic powder, etc.

Start with the bowl of browned meat. Ad the cheeses to it until you have a good pliable consistency. Make sure to hold back at least a cup of the mozzarella

Spinach & Cheese Stuffing
Same as above except leave out the pork and ad a bag of sauteed spinach

Sauces
Sometimes I get adventurous and make a homemade sauce but usually I just use a good quality prepared red sauce. Homemade Alfredo is AMAZING on the Spinach & Cheese shells.

Preparing
Boil the shells with salt and a hefty dose of olive oil. Stir often so they don't stick together or to the bottom of the pan. Plan on losing several shells to tearing/sticking etc. Let the shells cool until they are comfortable to work with in your hands. Stuff each shell with filling but not so much that the shell is completely open at the bottom. You don't want all your stuffing coming out when it cooks.

Spread some sauce over the bottom of your casserole. Place shells (opening side down) along the bottom of the dish. Pack them tight. Pour sauce over all shells. Top with as much mozzarella as you want and bake at 350 until cheese is melted OR cover the dish with foil and freeze for another day. You can also freeze excess filling in Ziploc bags for the next time.