Custom Search

Monday, April 11, 2011

Freeze ahead Stuffed shells

This is a great recipe if you like Italian food!  You can change it up by your choice of sauce.  This recipe prepares enough for several meals...cook some for dinner and freeze the rest!

Stuffed Shells

Thaw and squeeze to drain 1 box of chopped spinach.

Prepare 2 boxes of jumbo shells according to the package.  When cooked, drain and rinse in cool water, toss with a little oil or leave in cool water while you work.

While pasta is cooking, brown 1lb each of italian sausage and ground beef(or turkey or whatever).  Drain, add a little basil & oregano if you like.

In a separate bowl, mix together 1 large tub of ricotta, 1 egg, garlic, and shredded mozzarella.  Stir in drained meat & drained spinach.

Fill your shells!  If you are cooking tonight, cover a baking dish with your sauce, then place stuffed shells, then cover with more sauce.  Top with cheese if you like.  Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.

For the part you are freezing, place stuffed shells on a baking sheet, not touching each other.  Place in freezer until shells are frozen, then place into zippered storage bags for the freezer.  You do not need to thaw these before baking, just bake as if they were fresh, but for more time.

Your sauce doesn't need to completely cover the shells, but all edges of the pasta should have sauce on them, you may need to spoon it around a bit.  I usually use a garlic parmesan or alfredo for this, but they are equally good with a tomato based sauce.

No comments: