Delicious stuffed pasta shells never fail to make a big impression. This is a unique dish that will be a big hit with kids of all ages.
Ingredients
Pasta:
- 1 1/2 boxes (about 20 oz.)
- Jumbo/Super Shells Macaroni
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. salt
- 2 Tbsp. oil
Cheese Mix:
- 4 lbs cottage cheese (low fat or non-fat)
- 3 lbs white cheese (I use half mozzarella and half Colby Jack)
- 5 eggs, slightly beaten
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1 Tbsp. oregano, dried
- 1 Tbsp. basil, dried
- 1 Tbsp. chopped parsley, dried
Sauce Topping:
- 4 bottles spaghetti sauce
- 2 lbs. Italian flavor sausage
Instructions
- Pasta:
Bring 8 qts water and salt to boil. Add shells and cook about 14 minutes. Add oil during boil to prevent shells from sticking. Drain and rinse in cold water. Pat dry. - Cheese Mix:
Cut most (2 1/2 lbs) of the cheese into small, 1/2 inch cubes. Grate the remainder and put aside. Mix all of the cheese mixture together (except for the cheese you grated–this will go on top when it’s all done.) - Sauce Topping:
Brown sausage in oiled skillet. Drain. Combine with spaghetti sauce. - Now to assemble all together:
Spray casserole dish with Pam. Spoon cheese mixture into pasta shells, (about 1 1/2 to 2 Tbsp. mixture per shell) and line up in dish. Cover filled dish with Sauce Topping. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top. Bake five pans at 350 for one hour. (When I’m heating just one dish, I bake at 350 for only 30 minutes but it takes much longer with a full oven). - Side Note: It’s hard to judge how full to fill the shells, and I usually run out of either cheese mixture or shells. Sometimes I whip up extra cheese mixture to fill extra shells, sometimes I just have extra pasta shells that don’t get filled. I tried to adjust the recipe so that there aren’t leftover shells, but it’s hard to know.
Cooking time (duration): 60
Number of servings (yield): 12
Meal type: dinner
Culinary tradition: Italian
My rating: stars
