Friday, March 20, 2020

Three Cheese Stuffed Shells

While I'm perfectly happy with a plateful of hip-sticking carbs, my husband doesn't consider it a meal unless there's at least a pound of meat involved. That makes it a little tricky since it's Lent, which means meatless Fridays. The hubs doesn't care much for seafood, either, so cooking satisfying meals for my giant eater can be a challenge, to say the least!

I found this recipe recently and was pleasantly surprised with how yummy and satisfying it was, even without any meat. I guess three kinds of cheese makes up for it. Of course, you could easily add some ground beef or Italian sausage to your spaghetti sauce, if you like, but I doubt you'll miss it if you leave it out.
I served this with some crusty garlic bread and roasted asparagus, both of which I baked at the same time--super convenient!



Three Cheese Stuffed Shells
Prep time: 20 min Bake time: 35 min
Serves 5

20 jumbo shells
1 (24 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1½ cup cottage cheese
4 oz cream cheese, softened
¼ cup sour cream
1 ½ cup shredded mozzarella, divided
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

Cook pasta shells according to package directions, about 15 minutes. Stir gently while cooking to avoid tearing the shells. Drain.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400ºF. Lightly spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

Heat spaghetti sauce in a medium saucepan till bubbly. Pour half the spaghetti sauce into prepared pan, reserving 1/2 for later.

Combine cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and Italian seasoning. Stuff cooked pasta shells with cheese mixture.

Place stuffed shells on top of sauce in baking dish. Spread reserved sauce on top of stuffed shells. Sprinkle with reserved mozzarella.

Bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes until heated through.

670 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!