Saturday, December 13, 2008

Tara's Stuffed Shells

1 lb. ground beef
1/4 cup chopped green pepper (finely minced)
1/4 cup chopped yellow onion (finely minced)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1- 15oz. container of ricotta cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1-6oz. package of shredded Parmesan cheese (the one found with the other bagged shredded cheeses)
1-16oz. package of Mozzarella cheese (DO NOT purchase the shredded kind...you just won't get the same effect. You should shred it by hand!)
1 box of jumbo shells (DO NOT purchase the ones that just bake in the oven!)
1 jar of your favorite tomato sauce (I used Ragu with mushrooms)

Brown the meat and saute the vegetables at the same time. Once the mixture is about 3/4 the way done add the red pepper flakes. Drain WELL! In a large bowl combine well all of the Parmesan cheese, 1/2 of the Mozzarella cheese, the eggs, ricotta cheese and the meat mixture. Let sit. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and prepare the entire box of jumbo shells. Drain well and then pour cold water over them. Pour 1/3 of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish. Once they are cold enough to handle by hand, scoop the ricotta mixture into each shell and place into baking dish. Top with remaining Mozzarella cheese. Pour the remaining sauce over the shells. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. ENJOY!!!

6 comments:

Sandy said...

I'm glad you had a great time! Trivial Pursuit and Outburst are a lot of fun to play:)

Nicole said...

Glad to hear the night was a success, although I'm sorry your knee had to suffer because of it. i keep forgetting to take pictures of the food I am serving to people, too!

Enjoy the relaxing and the Dark Knight... it was a good one. ;)

Anonymous said...

Oh yay! I've been meaning to make these bc my hubby keeps asking for them! But I've never made them before.

Thanks for that graphic....now I'm craving cookie cake!

Denise said...

I am glad you enjoyed yourself, sounds like fun. I am praying for your knee. The shells and cookie cake both sound yummy.

Lois Christensen said...

Glad your party was a huge success! Thanks for following my blog...love me comments as much as you do! Became a follower of your blog as well! Have a great weekend, looking forward to many more recipes!

Perfectly Unperfect said...

I am thinking about making these for Christmas eve dinner. I have a question though....you said to mix in half the mozzeralla cheese...do you use the other half in this dish?

Thank you for sharing your recipes with us!!