stuffed shells

First of all, let me tell you a few things: I love Japanese, Italian,Indian and Mexican food-pretty much in that order. My family, however- has different food loves, they’d pretty much pick Mexican or American over all that. In fact they never say “Oooo, let’s have Japanese tonight!” Mainly it’s just my three year old and I that “do” sushi-but that’s just fine because I don’t share my sushi very well, and neither does she.I also never hear, “How about curry?” Ha! If I make a curry dish, my husband says…(for days) ““The house smells like a gas station store”

Then I place bowls of vinegar everywhere, and then I hear (for days) “Did you make pickles?”

Oh boy. So… I don’t make curry too much.

As far as Italian goes, once in a while everyone is in agrees. Weird, huh?

(Of course, pizza is not in my “Italian” category)

Yippee. I got to make an Italian dish. Yum.

Of course I could just make my own separate, exotic ethnic creations…but seriously- that’s a lot of time and dishes.

No thanks.

Back to shells:

I took a pic of the mixture I concocted, so that I wouldn’t leave anything out. Yay.

and….I jotted it down, too. Another yay.

and, I am assuming all of you guys know the basics of stuffed shells, right? Of course you do- y’all are smart.

But…in case you don’t~ well, cook the large shell noodles according to package directions; stuff each with the mixture recipe below, top with your favorite sauce and cheese. Italian shredded cheese. Not American. That would be..gross.

No matter what your third cousin Jethro says, American cheese is not interchangeable with other types of cheese.

[print_this]

Spinach stuffed shells: *this recipe can be cut in half, just be sure to only cook a half box of shells.

1 package large shell noodles, cooked according to package directions.

2 packages chopped spinach (the frozen “box” style) thawed and well drained

1 1/2 c ricotta

4 tbs olive oil

4 tbs cream cheese

1/2 c Parmesan cheese

2 tsp oregano

2 tsp basil

1 tsp garlic powder or 2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped fine

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2/3 c Italian bread crumbs

1 egg

for topping~ 1 1/2 c shredded Italian cheese or mozzarella

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, spoon into each shell.

Place each filled shell into a lightly coated (with cooking spray-I rub garlic in mine, too) casserole dish

Top with your favorite sauce and cover with foil, bake at 350 for 30 minutes, remove foil and top with 1 1/2 c shredded Italian cheese, bake 5 more minutes.