Even though I’m an Irish girl, I’m pretty sure that I have some Italian in me. It’s either that or I just love my carbs a bit too much. Insalata caprese, pasta e fagioli, pizza margherita, gnocchi, lasagne, spaghetti, carbonara…those are just a few Italian dishes that come to mind as I sit here daydreaming about tomatoes, cheeses, noodles and breads. I don’t think there is a single thing that I don’t love about Italian cooking.
With that being said, I’m pretty sure I could eat it every day of the week. Whenever I need a quick meal to prepare, I turn to an Italian dish. Whenever I want to spend quality time in the kitchen preparing a delicious dish, more often than not it somehow traces back to Italy.
The other great thing about Italian dishes? They don’t require a lot of ingredients to create a mouth-watering meal. Take this stuffed shells recipe that I threw together last night. You probably already have most of these ingredients in your kitchen. Even though the dish might look intimidating, it’s actually really simple to prepare. With a few quick and easy steps, you will have a comforting dish to enjoy…and you might even have leftovers for lunch or dinner the following day!
Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells
Ingredients:
- 1 12 ounce box of jumbo pasta shells
- 1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
- 15 ounces of Ricotta cheese
- 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried Oregano
- 1 egg
- 3 cups of pasta sauce (approximately)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook pasta shells according to directions on the package and then drain.
- Prepare a 9×13 cooking dish while the pasta shells are cooking by spraying the dish with non-stick cooking spray and coating the bottom with 1/2 cup of pasta sauce.
- Mix spinach, Ricotta cheese, 1 cup of Mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, Oregano and egg. One at a time, spoon this mixture by the tablespoonful into the shells and place the prepared shells on the cooking dish.
- Sprinkle the remaining pasta sauce over the shells and top with 1 cup of shredded Mozzarella cheese.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese is browned and bubbly.
They look amazing! What a beautiful picture!!
I love meatless stuffed shells. I am an Irish gal too, but like you sometimes I wonder…lol. I still remember the first time my Mom put spinach in her Lasagna…changed the game for me…love it!
These are great, I haven't had stuffed shells in years! My foster son is vegetarian this will be a perfect dish this fall!
These look amazing! Such my time of dinner entree!
These are seriously making my mouth water, YUM! I cook a lot of Italian and can't wait to try these!
One of my favorite meals!
I love stuffed shells but haven't had them in ages, now I'm craving them! These look fabulous!
Love to make and eat stuffed shells…just so much fun!!
One of my all time favorites! Looks delicious :)!
I'm right there with you girl. My family is no where near Europe yet I would never turn down a comforting bowl of pasta like this one; looks absolute;y delicious :)
Stuffed shells is one of my all-time favorites! I love to make a giant batch and freeze a bunch for later. I will have to make some again soon after seeing yours… They look lovely!
Wow, these look mouth-watering!! I could eat a HUGE plate of these right now!!
I have been on a major Italian kick lately. I may just have to add these to my list of things to cook asap. They look delicious! :)
I made these last night – my husband is allergic to eggs so I left the egg out and added a tiny bit of water. Also – he's not big on spinach so I used 1/2 box of spinach and added a package of italian sausage. DELICIOUS – AMAZING! It made 2 dishes (square & pie plate) although I maybe needed a bit more than a jar of spaghetti sauce for both – but will definitely be making this again!