Note to Self

When attempting to make your own stuffed shells, one must first boil the shells and cook them before stuffing them. This is the story of the stuffed shells that were not meant to be and my attempt at making my own....

I bought a box of fresh stuffed shells to which I was looking forward to making for dinner, we'd already made a large pot of fresh sauce. We went to go use the shells, before the expiration date I might add, and they were covered in mold, what a disappointment. Already set on having stuffed shells I headed down to A&P to pick up some frozen stuff shells, only to find out that A&P does not carry any frozen stuffed shells (I hate that supermarket by the way). Then I proceeded to go around the store and pick up the ingredients to make my own.

My first problem when I got home was that I bought the small container of ricotta cheese, not the large one, but I suppose I could live with a little less cheese. I then proceeded to mix my cheeses and stuff them in the hard uncooked pasta shells. You see I missed the first line of the directions that mentioned, oh say, prepare the jumbo shells according to package directions. Mike even asked me once I had stuffed my shells and they were already in the oven if I had to cook them first, I replied, no, they cook in the oven, assuming this was like those no bake lasagna noodles they make, yea they're not. So lesson learned, always boil your stuffed shells before filling them.

Homemade Stuffed Shells
Source: Ronzoni Pasta Box

1 (12-ounce) package Jumbo Shells
1 (16-ounce) container ricotta cheese
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Prepare jumbo shells according to package directions; drain. Pour sauce into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Fill shells evenly with ricotta mixture and place in baking dish. Top with sauce. Sprinkle evenly with remaining cup of shredded mozzarella. Bake, covered, in a 350° oven until hot, about 30 minutes.

Now if I got to make them the way I wanted to, I would have made them like this instead with spinach. But someone is a picky eater and requested no spinach in the shells.

Spinach Stuffed Shells
Source: Skinny Taste

2 cups part skim ricotta cheese
8 oz reduced fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 egg
16 oz package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed well
1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano