Forks & Knives: Stuffed Pasta Shells

Hello Everyone!

Yes, PASTA NIGHT is tonight and I have the perfect recipe for you! The beauty about this dish is you can change it up as you please with your own preferences and make it as simple or as extravagant as you want. Vegetarian? Stuff it with some gooey cheese, spinach and favorite blend of veggies. Although all of that sounds DELISH, today I have decided to go the classical way and will be stuffin' my pasta with beef and cheese! Follow my recipe for an awesome weekend dinner!

PS: Don't panic, this dish is great on the weekdays too ;)

Ingredients:

Salt

Pepper

1/4 Finely chopped carrots (or grated, whatever is easier)

1/4 Finely chopped celery

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1/4-1/2 cups of sliced mushrooms

1- 1 1/2 pounds of ground meat

1 28oz. canned tomato sauce

1 teaspoon of dried Basil

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 12oz. box of jumbo shells

1/2-1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese (Depending on how much you love cheese! )

Instructions:
1. Get your veggies into a pan and sautee them for about ten minutes at a medium to high heat .

2. Once your veggies have cooked off add your ground meat.

Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring some salted water to a boil and cook your pasta shells. DO NOT OVERCOOK! I would suggest to cook them up a little bit over the halfway mark that the boxed instruction tells you to. Remember, you will finish off the dish in the oven to bake off.

3. After the meat has browned, mix in the tomato sauce. Once the sauce has come to a boil add the dried basil, salt and pepper to taste and reduce to a simmer.

4. Once your meat sauce has simmered off for about 15 minutes you can start stuffing the pasta. I placed some sauce on the bottom of the pan as well so that the shells don't get stuck.

5. Once the shells have been stuffed, cover the dish with foil and bake them in the oven for about 20-25 minutes.

(I add some Parmesan cheese and basil on top before it goes in the oven)

6. After the 20 minutes are up, take the shells out of the oven and place slices of mozzarella cheese on top (or shredded, whatever you have handy)

For a gooey finish, broil the the shells in the oven for a few minutes on high heat so that the cheese melts! KEEP your eye on them or they WILL burn.