Easy and Delicious Stuffed Pasta Shells

My favorite month has arrived! OCTOBER!!!! Time to bring out all the comfort foods. And pumpkins. And cardigans. And Fall scented candles. And your Fall decor if you have waited this long to do so. (My Fall decor was out the first day of school. ;))

This week for our Italian Night, I put together an easy dish of stuffed pasta shells. The combination of ricotta cheese filling, marina sauce, and melted mozzarella and parmesan cheese was just as close to perfection as you can get.

As I was assembling the shells, it dawned on me that I have NEVER made this dish for my family before! WHAT?!! When I began this blog and choosing recipes to share with you all, I have discovered so many recipes that I have not made in a long, long time. So I’m excited to re-introduce them to my family and to you guys.

The most time consuming part of this dinner is stuffing the shells, however, if you use a piping bag with a large round tip, it will cut the filling part time in half.

This month is a bit busy for my family: my son’s wedding, Homecoming, Halloween, and my birthday. So dinners that can be assembled quickly and easily are going to be key to keeping my family around the table instead of the drive-throughs.

This dinner can be on the table within 45 minutes from start to finish.

Easy and Delicious Stuffed Pasta Shells

• 1-2 boxes large pasta shells (depending on the size of your family)
• Large container of Ricotta Cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• salt
• pepper
• 1 32 oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 lb ground beef
• 2-3 cups shredded mozzarella or parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Bowl pasta shells according to package directions
3. Mix ricotta cheese with spices and 2 eggs.
4. While the pasta shells are boiling, brown ground beef in a skillet till all pink is gone. Add crushed tomatoes, a little salt and pepper and garlic to taste.
5. Drain and rinse the shells with cold water.
6. Coat the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish with a spoonful or two of the meat sauce.
7. Fit a piping bag with a large round frosting tip, fill bag with ricotta cheese mixture and begin filling the shells.
8. Once all the shells are filled and placed in the casserole dish, top with meat sauce and shredded cheese.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until cheese is melted.

ENJOY!