Comfort Food Anyone?

Get ready to thank me….I’m about to share with you my personal recipe for the ultimate comfort food…homemade stuffed shells.  Although the already-prepared frozen shells are a quick and easy alternative, making your own homemade version will allow you to customize your comfort food.  You will need:

3 lb container of whole milk ricotta cheese

1 lb of whole milk shredded mozzarella

10 oz of chopped spinach (frozen)

3 eggs

1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese

Fresh parsley

Jumbo shells

Now that you have your ingredients, let’s get cooking.  Follow the instructions on the pasta box to cook the jumbo shells until they are al-dente (usually about 9 minutes).  Drain the shells and rinse them with cold water to stop the cooking process and make them easy to handle for inserting the filling.  Set your cooked pasta aside and steam the frozen spinach on a low flame.  After the spinach is steamed, place in a strainer to thoroughly drain the excess water and set aside to cool.  In a large bowl, combine the eggs, ricotta, 8 oz of mozzarella cheese, steamed spinach, parmesan, parsley, salt and pepper to taste.  Depending on the size of your shells, spoon approximately 2 teaspoons of the ricotta/spinach filling into each shell and set aside on a piece of parchment paper sprinkled with semolina flour.  After all of your shells are filled, you can store in the refrigerator for the next day, freeze them, or finish the process with your signature sauce.  Lightly coat a lasagna dish with extra virgin olive oil and spread a thin layer of sauce.  Nestle your homemade shells in a single layer and top with more of your sauce.  Sprinkle the remaining 8 oz of shredded mozzarella and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.  Buon Appetito!