New Recipe:
Kelso's Stuffed Shells!
This is my secret weapon recipe. In some part of my soul, I honestly believe that this very recipe helped me bag myself a hot chick (who is now my fiance
)
Prep Time: 50-60 minutes
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
Ingredients:
-2 boxes of Jumbo Shells (you can use 1 box if you're real careful. I allow for a 30% breakage loss)
-Any basic red sauce. Use as much or as little as you like.
-1lb of ground beef
-1 large yellow onion, diced
-4 cloves of garlic, minced
-Extra virgin olive oil
-1.5lb Ricotta Cheese
-16oz of shredded mozarella cheese
-1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
-1 16oz package of frozen, cut-leaf spinache, squeeze dried
-Salt & Pepper
-2 eggs
-Large baking pan
-Large stock pot
-Large Skillet/Frying pan
Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350°F
-Bring large pot of water to a boil. Add shells to boiling water. Be careful not to break them.
-In a Large Skillet, lightly brown the onion and garlic in olive oil
-Add the ground beef and brown thoroughly.
-Add the spinache to the pan and cook until the spinache is soft.
-In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, 1cup of the mozarella cheese, the parmesan cheese, and 2 eggs. Mix.
-Combine the cheese mixture with the beef/spinache mixture.
-
Lightly coat the baking pan with olive oil so that the shells won't stick during baking.
-When the shells are cooked
al dente, remove from heat and flush with cold water. I prefer to leave the shells in water to prevent breakage during straining.
-Place about 1.5 Tbsp of the stuffing inside of each shell and place shells in the baking pan. Don't be afraid to crowd the pan. It'll still be ok
The stuffing station. Note the pot is still full of cold water
This is the best technique for opening your shells. Hold from the sides and put your thumb inside to make the shells open like a bowl. Note the thin layer of olive oil in the pan
One down...about 40 more to go
-Once your pan is filled to capacity with shells, pour a layer of the red sauce over the top. Be generous so that the sauce can work it's way around the shells.
-Be generous with the sauce, but remember
we are not making soup.
-Sprinkle the rest of the mozarella cheese over the top of the shells. Add extra if your heart so desires.
-Place the baking pan full of yummy goodness onto the center rack of the oven and back for 20-25 minutes at 350°F.
-Once the cheese on top is melted sufficiently, remove from the oven and let cool.
-Enjoy your meal, and make sure you have a turtleneck to cover up the hickey's you're bound to have after flexing your culinary prowess.
