Cheese Stuffed Shells

I really love Italian cooking. I do NOT love spending all day watching tomatoes boil, though. I found this recipe one day while fiending for ricotta cheese stuffed shells! It is delicious - even my husband likes these, and he is "not so much" with the pasta. When good friends of ours lost a daughter a year and a half ago, I made these in 2 square foil pans so they could just heat up what they would eat at one meal. (I'm a big believer in lots of food when someone passes away!)

The other day I went to Sam's and bought a monster tub of Ricotta and a FIVE POUND BRICK of mozzarella. Had to use them, right?

Cheese Stuffed Shells

INGREDIENTS
Sauce:
1 chopped onion, small
2 cloves garlic, chopped
olive oil
lg can Italian tomatoes, with juice
15 oz can tomato sauce
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp parsley

Cheese Stuffing:
1 lb ricotta
1/4 lb mozzarella, grated
3 tbsp parmesan, grated
1 tbsp parsley
1 egg

20-30 large pasta shells

DIRECTIONS
Sauce:
Saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add tomatoes; saute until soft. Break up with a fork or wooden spoon. Add tomato sauce and spices; simmer 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Cheese stuffing and shell assembly:
Combine ingredients and mix well; put in fridge until shells are ready to stuff. Parboil shells about 12 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water; drain again. Place half of sauce in 13x9x2 baking dish. Carefully fill each shell with cheese stuffing.



Place shells on top of sauce, stuffed side up. Spoon remaining sauce over shells and sprinkle with more grated parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes. If desired, uncover 10 minutes before baking is done and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella.
Serves 4-5


Becca's tip of the day - I have a decorating tube with an open star tip. I load this with the cheese mixture and it is super-easy to pipe the stuffing into the shells with less mess and aggravation! This is the tool I use. Love it!