I always enjoy a warm cheesy pasta dish, and one that is not overly time consuming to make. Growing up we had Manicotti for more special dinners – birthdays to be exact. My brother loved Manicotti, and I remember having it for his birthday on more than one occasion. Stuffed Shells often remind me of Manicotti – except a little more sauce, and a little less cheese, and a little easier to make 🙂
Annie shared this recipe with me years ago, and I still use it – often! It is simple and versatile. If I have fresh (or frozen) vegetables I throw in cooked spinach or kale (about 1 cup) to the cheese mixture. If I have meat on hand, I throw that in too – cooked and drained ground beef or Italian sausage. Serve with a warm baguette and fresh salad (like this Italian salad) and dinner is served!
- 1 c. part-skim ricotta cheese
- ½ c. mozzarella cheese
- ½ c. parmesan cheese
- 1 t. salt
- 1 t. garlic powder
- ¼ t. pepper
- 3 c. tomato sauce
- 1 lb. cooked jumbo pasta shells - approx. 24 shells
- 1 c. cooked and drained spinach or kale (optional)
- 1 c. cooked meat - ground beef or Italian sausage (optional)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Mix together cheeses and spices
- Spread a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish.
- When cooked shells are cool enough to handle, fill each shell with a cheese mixture and place in a baking dish. When all shells are in dish, spoon remaining tomato sauce over shells. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Yields about 4 shells per serving
Love pasta as much as we do? Here are a couple other great pasta recipes.
Who was the cute young man helping out with the cooking?
Hi Judy!
Thank you for reading and commenting on our site. I’m guessing you are referring to Jack, my two-year old son, who often loves to help out in the kitchen any way he can! If he sees the mixer going, then the next question is, “What are you making, mommy?” Which leads to, “Can I help?” We love to encourage those kitchen helpers. We also have some adorably handsome nephews, too 😉