Welcome back ladies! A new school year has finally arrived and, if you’re like me, so have the #NewYearNewMe resolutions.
Okay, okay. Although we all know that the “I’m not going to procrastinate anymore and do all my assignments ahead of time” resolution never really lasts past syllabus week, there are plenty of others that can actually be a lot of fun to carry out. So, seeing that I’m a fourth year and on the cusp of becoming a full grown (gulp) adult, I’ve decided to try and take up cooking.
This stuffed pasta shell recipe is one of the two whole recipes I know how to cook so far and I absolutely love it. Since I’ve made it for friends before, and have always gotten such positive feedback, it only felt just to share it with my fellow collegiettes.
Bonus: You get down and dirty with cheese which is both fun and delicious.
Ingredients:
- 1 box Barilla jumbo pasta shells
- 1 jar Prego traditional tomato sauce
- 1 container Galbani ricotta cheese
- 1 pack shredded mozzerella
- Spinach, chopped
- Garlic Salt
- Tablespoon of butter
- Italian Seasoning (usually contains basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme)
Prep:
- Bring ~2 cups of water to boil in a large saucepan. Sprinkle in a couple of pinches of Italian seasoning (this part I totally just eyeball, tbh)
- Add pasta shells and let sit in medium heat until they are al dente
- While the pasta is on the stovetop, add the ricotta, mozzerella and spinach into a mixing bowl
- Down and dirty: I find it easiest (and most fun) to mix these with your hands. Just really get in there.
- Sprinkle garlic salt and Italian seasoning into mixture (again, this is all eyeballing for me. My advice is don’t be afraid to taste it! Start off gradual with the garlic salt and add more until you reach a flavor you like)
- Drain pasta
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
- In a large tempered glass baking dish, add butter and spread until the bottom of the dish is lightly coated in buttery deliciousness (don’t be afraid to use your hands, people!)
- Coat the bottom of the dish with a thin layer of Prego tomato sauce
- Open up the pasta shells and start stuffing with cheese/spinach mix. How much is up to you, but keep in mind that you may run out of mix before shells. I generally like to be able to close the shells all the way. I don’t know how to explain this, but I have pictures. I’m still a beginner here!
- Line shells in baking dish, and you can stack if you run out of room.
- When finished, cover top of shells with tomato sauce and finish off by adding more shredded mozzerella
- Cover top of dish with aluminum foil
Bake:
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese starts to bubble
- Remove from oven, let cool and enjoy!
***More Prep Photos:
*Disclaimer: I didn’t have butter on this particular day, so I substituted with a veryyyyyy light coat of cooking oil.