So I'm bringing back Make It Yourself Monday...at least I'm going to try. Can't blame a girl for trying right? Ok for this installation I am going to post a recipe that I tried last night. I pulled a generic stuffed pasta recipe off the web and it sounded a bit bland and had no veggies in it so with a little magic we have a recipe that will stay in my recipe binder.
May I present to you the Old Battle Axe's Stuffed Pasta Shells. I know - I know this plating is amazing. Gordon Ramsay would declare me The MasterChef (my second favorite show - my first is this) if he saw this. Watch out Lynn you ain't got nothin' on me. It kind of looks like dook on a plate but trust me it is super tasty.
Ingredients:
1 large box of jumbo pasta shells
1lb ground beef
1lb sweet italian sausage
1lb spicy italian sausage
1 yellow onion - diced
2 cloves garlic
10 oz frozen or fresh spinach chopped finely (if frozen make sure to thaw and squeeze out extra water)
1 small can of diced black olives
1/2c. seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg beaten
2 jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce ( I used tomato basil)
3 - 4 cups or so of shredded mozzarella
1/2c. parmesan cheese
1Tbspn parsley flakes
1. You can either crock pot this meal or cook it in the oven. If you cook it in the oven preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a lasagna dish. If not get your crock pot out and lightly grease sides with some olive oil. Get a large pot out and boil the water for the pasta. Cook pasta according to directions. Rinse and set the shells aside on a plate or cutting board. You don't want the pasta shells to stick together.
2. Brown all the meat on medium heat and use your spoon to chop into small pieces. Drain and place 1/2 of the meat in a container for later date (I usually brown twice the meat I need and freeze the second half for later in the week for another recipe - bolognese, spaghetti, any easy to make italian meal).
3. Throw in your onions and stir well. Once onions are translucent go ahead and throw in the garlic, bread crumbs, parsley flakes, olives, spinach, and lastly the egg. Take off the heat and set it next to the crock pot. I then add about 1 cup of cheese and mix well. If you're dairy free, make sure to scoop out about 1.5 cups of meat before you mix the cheese in and set aside.
4. Open both jars of sauce and set aside next to crock pot. I place all my shredded mozzarella in a bowl next to my crock pot. The idea is to have everything ready next to the crock pot because once you start stuffing the shells your hands get really dirty.
5. Place a thin layer of sauce in your crock pot or lasagna dish. Stuff shells with meat mixture and make a single layer in the crockpot or lasagna dish. Place some sauce on top and a layer of cheese. I then go ahead and stuff more shells making a second layer. Then topping that with sauce and cheese. Do this until you run out of shells and sauce. Since I'm the only one that is dairy free in my family - I made a dairy free side for me and a cheese side for the rest.
6. If you're baking in the oven - cook for 30 minutes. If you're cooking in the crock pot - either low heat for 4-6 hours or high heat for 2 hours.
This is an easy meal that can be frozen also. Next time I make this, I'm going to make one for the freezer in my foil lined lasagna dish. You can also add extra veggies like mushrooms, carrots, or celery - all diced.
Hope you enjoy the recipe. Hope it makes sense. If you have any questions please leave a comment and I'll try to answer it.
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