Hey! This is a recipe I adapted from my mother in law. My husband prefers to have a little meat with his pasta...so we add veggies and Italian sausage to the marinara sauce and the meal is much more hearty. If you are not a big meat eater you can omit the sausage and it is still tasty! Spinach, zucchini and summer squash would all be great additions to the chunky marinara.
Ingredients:
8oz cream cheese, softened 2.08
15 oz ricotta cheese 1.83
3/4 C sour cream 1.00
12 oz shredded mozzarella 2.20
6 oz shredded Swiss 1.96
1 bunch green onions, diced .50
pepper to taste
3 jars/cans marinara sauce 3.00
1 lb Italian sausage 3.00
3 carrots, peeled and diced .25
3 stalks celery, diced .25
1 green pepper, diced .50
1 box large pasta shells 1.12
Directions:
Boil a large pot of water and cook shells according to box directions. Drain and cool.
Meanwhile brown the sausage in a medium sauce pan. Drain off the grease. Saute green pepper, carrots and celery in the sauce pan for 3-4 min. (add as many veggies as you like!) Add sausage back to pan. Pour a small amount of marinara sauce from jar/can into the bottom of three 8x8 pans or two 9x13 inch pans. This will keep the shells from sticking.
Pour the remaining sauce into the saucepan with the sausage and veggies. Turn burner to low and gently simmer until needed.
In a bowl combine cream cheese, ricotta cheese, sour cream, shredded Swiss, shredded mozzarella and onion. Season with pepper.
To assemble. Take a large cooled shell, fill with a spoonful of cheese mixture and arrange in pan. I was able to make 30 large shells and I divided them into three pans. Once all the shells are filled, pour chunky marinara sauce over top. Cover with foil and label.
These are ready to go into the oven, or into the freezer. Once frozen make sure to thaw in the fridge before cooking. Then bake 350 degrees for 40 min. I was able to make 3 pans for $5.90 each not including the aluminum. I hope you enjoy this meal as much as James and I do.
Take Care! Christie aka Keeza
