Giant Stuffed Shells

Late this afternoon I joined some great friends for a bit of cooking before we enjoyed dinner delish. Four of us joined forces to create this meal, 12 year old young man, 10 year old lovely young lady who just days ago entered the age of double digits, their ageless mother and me. What a team!

Here's what we created . . .  Giant Stuffed Shells

Here's what you will need . . .

 

6 oz. giant pasta shells (about 20)
1 pound lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 clove garlic, minced
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese (2 cups)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup fine dry Italian style or seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 jar (26-30 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Here's what you will do . . .

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook pasta shells in boiling water according to directions on box. Drain. Rinse in cold water, drain again. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef, onion and garlic until the meat is browned. Remove from heat and drain the fat from the meat. Stir in the mozzarella cheese, beaten egg, bread crumbs and pepper. 

Pour about 3/4 cup of the spaghetti sauce into the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish.

Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the meat mixture into each cooked pasta shell. Arrange the stuffed shells over the sauce in the dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the shells. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. 

We squeezed in a few extra shells. They all look so happy nestled in the pan, ready for sauce.

 Loosely cover the baking dish with foil. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. 

Garnish with fresh parsley if desired. 

Dividing the tasks . . .

 

The kids are beginning to readily jump in and work. We mentioned grating Parmesan and the young lady leapt right to the task. The young man ran to get the onions and chopped until his eyeballs demanded I take over the job.

He cut the onion in half from top to bottom and peeled the onion.

Lay it flat and cut through, but not all the way to the stem. Cut all the way across in narrow slices. Then turn the onion sideways and cut narrow slices. The onion will fall apart in tiny squares.

We worked on the onions, the garlic and the cheese while ageless Mom got the water boiling and the meat in the skillet. Once the onion and garlic where chopped and minced they cooked with the meat. While the mom cooked the meat the kids and I measured the bread crumbs, beat the eggs, measured the pepper and sauced the baking dishes. Yes, baking dishes. This family of more than the average number of children also had a harvest crew to feed. This was the perfect recipe to multiply and bake two pans at once. 

Now for the SURPRISE!

 

We had a super duper extra special salad tonight. It is one of those "sometimes" salads, not an every day salad like a lovely green salad. No, this is more treat or dessert than salad, Snicker Salad! The kids jumped right in, chopping snickers bars and cutting apples, and adding it to the pudding and whipped topping mixture. 

Our dinner was made even better by sitting around the table, hearing about school and activities. I enjoy sharing this family time and feel blessed to put my feet under their table.

BTW . . .

This is a great make ahead pasta recipe. Make and stuff the shells, cover with foil and refrigerate till later in the day or even overnight. Since it will be cold when you bake it, you will need to bake 15-20 minutes longer.  Be sure to bake until shells are heated to at least 140 degrees. You can check this with an instant read thermometer.

Leftovers keep well for a few days. Reheat, covered with foil, in the oven or reheat, covered loosely with waxed paper, in the microwave.  

Happy dinner!