Lent starts Wednesday...and I'm giving up pasta and potatoes this year. The 25 shells are starting to make sense now, right? If I successfully give up both pasta and potatoes, I'm pretty sure I can do anything after that. Maybe climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro is next, or conquering the world, whichever plan I decide to enact first.
I decided to combine a couple of recipes I've browsed for stuffed shells. I combined one that had spinach and mushrooms and one that had basil pesto mixed in. It's like when you take 2 celebrities and merge their faces together to see what their offspring would like.
It looks a lot like this:
Spinach, Mushroom and Pesto Stuffed Shells
1 box jumbo shells, cooked al dente according to package
1 (26 oz) jar marinara sauce
1 (15 oz) container ricotta cheese (I used part-skim)
1 - 2 cups of spinach, chopped (I love spinach so I added 2 cups)
1 (8 oz) package mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup of basil pesto sauce
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
salt & pepper
1. Preheat oven to 400.
2.. Cook shells until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water.
3. In a bowl, mix ricotta cheese, spinach, mushrooms, parmesan cheese, pesto and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Pour marinara sauce into a broiler safe baking dish.
5. Fill shells with cheese mix. Place shells on top of marinara sauce.
6. Sprinkle mozzarella on top of shells and bake for 10-15 minutes until heated through. Turn oven to broil and broil for 2-3 minutes until cheese begins to slightly brown.
