Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells.
October 24, 2012 by KatieI’m working on meals I can make and freeze for the days I don’t feel like cooking (which, honestly, have been more and more common now that I’m 8 months pregnant). These stuffed shells are hearty and freeze easily, making meal time a snap.
We had an issue with our camera this weekend (we dropped it) – thankfully the camera is fine, but the lens is a goner. We didn’t have the other camera (or any of the lenses) at home, so it was a picture-less weekend. But, this is a pretty standard stuffed shells recipe, so it’ll look something like this when you’re done.
Ingredients
1 package Jumbo Shells
4 cups fresh spinach, chopped
3 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano cheese
1 cup mozzerella
2 egg whites
1 jar of your favorite marinara (or make it from scratch)
Directions
Boil shells according to directions. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In the meantime, mix chopped spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano and egg whites in a large bowl.
Drain shells and rince with cold water. Stuff shells with equal parts of ricotta mixture.
This made something like 40 shells, which is WAY too much for us to eat. So, covered the bottom of a medium sized casserole dish with sauce, added 8 shells and topped with more sauce. I covered the dish and put in the oven for 30 minutes (uncovering for the last 5 minutes).
We put the rest on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer until frozen. Then, I transfered them to a freezer bag. Now, we can just grab as many as we need for dinner. Because they froze individually, they won’t be stuck together.
To cook from the freezer:
You can take out of the freezer the night before and thaw in the fridge – this will reduce the cooking time to roughly 30-45 minutes (or until heated through). Or, you can use frozen shells, but you’ll need to cook for about an hour and 15 minutes – or until heated through. Assemble the dish the same way you would for the fresh shells (marinara on the bottom, shells, more marinara on top).
