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Gravel & Dine

Stuffed Shells

Freezer friendly stuffed shells are a great way to make one dinner tonight and have another for later. You can customize these by making all meat, all cheese, or mixing both fillings together. The recipe makes 2 9x9 pans.
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Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 3 -4 servings per pan
Course: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 24 large shells approximately
  • 1/2 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 lb bulk pork sausage
  • 1/2 c onion minced
  • 1 t garlic minced
  • 1/4 c Italian bread crumbs
  • 1 T parsley
  • 1 t oregano
  • 16 oz cottage cheese
  • 2 c finely shredded mozzarella or Italian blend cheese
  • 1/4 c Parmesan cheese
  • 1 t Italian seasoning
  • 1 10 oz pkg chopped spinach
  • 6 c marinara sauce

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Cook shells according to package directions.
  3. in a large skillet brown sausage and ground beef, breaking into small pieces as you brown. Place browned meat in a large bowl. Drain all but 1 T grease from the pan.
  4. Add onion and garlic to same pan and cook over medium heat until translucent but not browned. Add to same bowl as the meat.
  5. Mix meat and onion with bread crumbs, parsley, and oregano.
  6. Make the cheese mixture by mixing the cottage cheese, shredded cheese (all but a 1/2 cup), Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning. Mix in spinach.
  7. Spread a small amount of marinara in the bottom of two 9x9 inch pans.
  8. Fill each shell with about 2 T of filling. Place 12 filled shells in each pan.
  9. Cover shells with remaining marinara.
  10. Sprinkle on reserved shredded cheese.
  11. Bake for 25-30 minutes until sauce is bubbly and the cheese if melted and lightly browned. If frozen, thaw and then bake for 35-45 minutes, cover for the first 25 min.