Stuffed Shells

So i had already started supper when Sara came into the kitchen...starving as usual! when i said we are having stuffed shells she jumped for joy!....well not literally but her face showed jumping with joy on the inside, so i grabbed my camera and decided, why not? lets post it.

I decided on stuffed shells because i had a lot of cottage cheese that needed to be used, normally i use ricotta cheese but i hate to waste things so cottage cheese stuffed shells it was... but then i thought....why couldn't i put my eggs and cottage cheese in the vita-mix to make it smoother? so thats what i did and OH WOW, it looked like vanilla pudding, AWESOME! then i added the parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, pepper and oregano, LOVELY!! (Note: it is a little bit thinner when you blend it,  (you could use one less egg and that might make it a bit thicker)

I like to sneak in some veggies when i fry up the ground beef, i also added some onion, garlic and seasonings, you can't hardly even find the carrots when its all said and done,    ( wonder if they are even beneficial if you can't see them....hmmm)

nope its not pudding! its 3 eggs and about 2 cups cottage cheese, sorry i didn't measure.

to the egg mixture i added parmesan cheese, sorry again didn't measure....parsley, salt & pepper, oregano & basil.

all set up and ready to assemble.

all done and ready to devour!



RECIPE:
18 large shells, cooked
1# ground beef
onion, garlic, basil, salt & pepper, oregano, 
shredded veggies and of your choice (optional)
approx. 24 oz. pasta sauce
3 eggs
2 cups ricotta or cottage cheese
approx. 1 cup parmesan cheese
basil, oregano, parsley, salt & pepper
2 cups mozzarella cheese

cook & drain pasta shells, cook ground beef, drain and add veg & seasonings, add pasta sauce, set aside, mix or blend eggs & cottage cheese, then add parmesan cheese & seasonings.
grease a 9x13 pan, spread some of the meat sauce in bottom, stuff your shells with egg/cheese mixture, and place in pan, top with rest of meat sauce, sprinkle mozzarella cheese over all and bake at 350 for approx. 30 min. or till hot and cheese is melted.

NOTE: stuffing the shells can be a bit messy, i have seen where people put the egg/cheese mixture in a bag, cut off the tip and squeeze it into the shells, kinda like a frosting tube, i have not tried that but it sounds like it should work, i just get messy, i would rather wash my hands than extra utensils, but thats just me :)


ENJOY!
Rose