I live in Philadelphia, and last week I was kind “stuck” at home because of the pope’s impeding arrival. So I used the opportunity to cook up a storm! (Seriously, I managed to make Saucy Chicken Over Rice, Chicken Tacos Bowls, Tomato Sauce, this recipe shared below, and a bunch of other yummy freezable dishes. My slow cooker and stove had quite the week!)
Here’s one of my favorite “freezer friendly” meals, with directions on how to store in your freezer and how to reheat when ready.
These Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells are easy to make, and are great to pack away for future meals (or eat immediately, that’s totally allowed too).
Ingredients:
- 30 cooked jumbo pasta shells
- 1 15 oz container ricotta
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
- 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
- 1 large egg
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 cups marinara sauce, divided
- Cooking spray
Cook pasta according to package directions. I suggest adding in extra pasta shells in case some break or tear during the cooking process.
Combine the ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, Parmesan, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, spinach, egg, and garlic in a large bowl, stirring to combine.
When the shells are finished cooking, line up on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
Spoon heaping tablespoons of the filling into each pasta shell.
(If you don’t want to freeze it, skip the next two steps and move to “when ready to cook your shells” section). Freeze the stuffed shells on the baking sheet for at least 1 hour.
Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and add to freezer containers. (This allows you to stack them on top of each other, or put them in different sized containers.)
When ready to cook your shells, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spread 1/2 cup marinara sauce over the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. (Note: the photos are of a smaller batch.) Add the stuffed shells on top of the sauce and top with the remaining sauce. Top with the remaining 1 cup shredded mozzarella.
Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
I like to split these up into three smaller meals (it serves 6), so I adjust the cheese topping and sauce accordingly. I made myself a mini portion so you could see what it looks like… isn’t it so yummy looking? It’s a seriously cheesy meal!
The cheese mixture is so creamy and the spinach gives it some nice color and flavor! This is a great comfort food dish, especially as the weather gets colder. I love having a freezer stocked with meals for busy nights as well!
Ingredients
- 30 cooked jumbo pasta shells
- 1 15 oz conainter ricotta
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
- ½ cup (2 ounces) shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
- 1 large egg
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 cups marinara sauce, divided
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. I suggest adding in extra pasta shells in case some break or tear during the cooking process.
- Combine the ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, Parmesan, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, spinach, egg, and garlic in a large bowl, stirring to combine.
- When the shells are finished cooking, line up on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
- Spoon heaping tablespoons of the filling into each pasta shell.
- (If you don’t want to freeze it, skip the next two steps and move to “when ready to cook your shells” section). Freeze the stuffed shells on the baking sheet for at least 1 hour.
- Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and add to freezer containers. (This allows you to stack them on top of each other, or put them in different sized containers.)
- When ready to cook your shells, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spread ½ cup marinara sauce over the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. (Note: the photos are of a smaller batch.) Add the stuffed shells on top of the sauce and top with the remaining sauce. Top with the remaining 1 cup shredded mozzarella.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
What do you think?