Baked Spinach And Beef Stuffed Shells Food

BAKED SPINACH AND BEEF STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• Cook shells in salted boiling water until just barely tender, about 12 minutes. Drain and cool under cold running water. Drain again.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F.
• Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook, stirring and breaking up chunks, until browned, about 7 minutes. Drain off any excess fat.
• In a large bowl, combine beef, ricotta cheese and spinach.
• Spread half the marinara sauce over the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Spoon a heaping tablespoon of filling into each shell and place them open side up into the dish; fit them together snuggly and you should be able to get them all in a single layer.
• Pour remaining marinara evenly over top, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes.

EASY BEEF-STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• Cook pasta shells according to package directions to al dente; drain and rinse in cold water. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, 1-1/2 cups Italian cheese blend, Parmesan cheese, pesto, egg and half of the beef mixture., Spread 3/4 cup spaghetti sauce into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Spoon cheese mixture into pasta shells; place in baking dish. Combine remaining beef mixture and spaghetti sauce; pour over shells. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight., Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°. Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover; bake until cheese is melted, 5-10 minutes longer.

SPINACH-RICOTTA STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large wide pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until thickened, 15 to 20 minutes; season with salt. (You should have about 4 heaping cups of sauce.)
• Make the stuffed shells: Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells and cook as the label directs for baking, about 9 minutes. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Spread out on a baking sheet.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spinach and cook, tossing occasionally, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a large plate lined with a kitchen towel. Squeeze to remove any excess liquid, then finely chop.
• Put the spinach in a large bowl and add the ricotta, mozzarella, parsley, Parmesan, lemon zest, beaten egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Stir until combined.
• To assemble, spread about half of the sauce in the bottom of a 10-by-14-inch baking dish. Evenly fill the shells with the spinach-ricotta mixture using a spoon, or pipe it in using a pastry bag. Arrange the shells side by side, open-side up, in the baking dish on top of the sauce, then top with the remaining sauce.
• Cover the dish with foil and bake until heated through and the sauce is simmering around the edges, about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until any shells or cheese poking through the sauce are lightly browned in spots, about 10 more minutes. Let sit 10 minutes. Top with more Parmesan and red pepper flakes.

MOM'S SPINACH AND RICOTTA STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• Bring 4 - 5 qts of water to a rolling boil, add 2 tbs of salt, gently add pasta, be sure to add extra shells as you will lose a few, cook for approximately 10 minutes, or it tests al dente. Drain and rinse in cold water. If pasta is starchy, you can toss in olive oil to prevent from sticking, but use sparingly as it will also prevent the cheese from sticking.
• While pasta is cooking start your sauce:.
• In an 6-8 qt pan brown meats over a medium hot burner, work it with a spoon until meat crumbles, add onion, then cook until dark brown, If there is an excessive amount of fat, drain and, optionally, rinse. Add garlic and season to taste. Cook until garlic is fragrant, use caution not to burn. Add sauce & paste, reduce to a simmer. Continue to simmer until ready to serve, adjust seasoning as necessary.
• While meat sauce is cooking thaw and rinse and your spinach, I like to use the microwave , but you can rinse it under hot water. After draining all the water you can in a colander wrap the spinach in a very clean towel and twist to get the remaining water out, this is a critical step. When you get done the spinach will be VERY dry. Crumble the spinach in a large bowl, add ricotta, ¾ of the mozzarella, ¾ of the parmesan, mix, add egg, mix add seasonings/garlic and mix. Be sure to add enough salt here, the spinach really comes alive when seasoned properly.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• I like to bake the noodles in 8x12 foil pans, but you can use a single ½ sheet pan or a large casserole dish or a pair of 9x13 pans. Whatever you decide, lightly grease the pans, ladle in a generous amount of sauce. Each shell will take about 2 tablespoons of filling. They are very full, but not too top heavy. I fit about 20 shells in an 8x12 pan. Once the shells are filled and arranged, spoon a small amount of sauce on each one, sprinkle remaining cheeses on the top, cover with greased foil and bake for 25 minutes.
• If you are making the shells ahead of time you will need to adjust your cooking time, bake at 325 for 15 minutes or so, then raise temp to 350 and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5 minutes, until cheese is melted. At this point you can turn on the broiler (top element) and brown the cheeses.
• Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes (or so) while you warm up your garlic bread.

SPINACH, PESTO, AND BEEF STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• Brown the ground meat and season well with salt and pepper.
• Drain off the grease and put in a large bowl.
• Boil the shells, drain and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In the same skillet in which you browned the meat, add some olive oil and saute the spinach until completely done.
• Mix the pesto, cream cheese, Parmesan and spinach into the ground meat.
• Pour a little marinara into a large (large enough to hold all the manicotti in one layer) casserole dish, enough to allow the shells to sit on and not stick to the bottom of the dish.
• Then stuff the shells with the meat mixture and lay the stuffed shells into the casserole.
• Top each shell with Provolone.
• Pour remaining marinara over shells, top with shredded mozzarella.
• Bake for 45-60 minutes, until hot and bubbly with the cheese all melted but not too browned.

SPINACH STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• preheat oven 350.
• cook jumbo shells according to pkg direction: drain, reserve 1/2 c pasta water.
• cook ground beef.
• stir in oil, spinach, onion, garlic.
• add some of the pasta water until blended well.
• let mixture cool.
• stir in egg and parmesan cheese.
• Freeze stuffing if making it for a freezer recipe.
• Serving Directions: pour 1 c tomato basil sauce into 13x9 baking dish.
• fill jumbo shells with meat mixture; place in dish.
• pour remaining sauce over shells.
• cover with foil.
• bake 30 min or until thoroughly heated.