Ricotta stuffed shells with meat sauce

 

• 1 box jumbo shells pasta (I used about half the box) 

• 15oz ricotta cheese

• 1 egg

• about a handful of shredded mozzarella 

• about a handful of shredded parmesan 

• 1lb lean ground beef 

• 3 mild Italian sausages (out of the casing or already ground) 

• 1/2 yellow onion (chopped)

• 1/2 red pepper (chopped) 

• 1/2 green pepper (chopped)

• 5 cloves garlic (minced)

• 2 jars of your favorite sauce (or homemade)

• Curley parsley (chopped) 

• Italian seasoning 

 

Preheat oven to 350°. Boil pasta until al dente and rinse with cold water, set aside. Mix ricotta, 1 egg, mozzarella, parmesan, a little parsley & Italian seasoning, set aside. Begin preparing meat sauce by sautéing onion, bell peppers & garlic. Add in ground beef and sausage. Cook until veggies are slightly translucent & meat is thoroughly cooked. Add sauce. In a baking safe dish, add a layer of meat sauce to the bottom. Begin stuffing shells with ricotta mixture and place on top of the layer of meat sauce. Drizzle a small amount of sauce onto each stuffed shell and cover with remaining mozzarella. Cover lightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Take the foil off for the last 10 minutes (decide if you want to add a little more cheese or not) and broil for the last 2 minutes until the cheese begins to slightly brown. Garnish with parsley (optional) and enjoy