With picky eaters, when you find something that works, you stick with it.
A couple of months ago, I fed my family our Stuffed Mexican Shells and they were a huge hit! My kids ate them with their hands because they thought they were “mini tacos”. We probably had them once a week for about 6 weeks straight (and I would have kept going had my husband finally asked me to try something else! Ha ha!).
Anyway, I decided to mix it up and try something a little different inside the shells. The kids didn’t even notice- they were just thrilled to have “mini tacos” again! I am thinking that I could put anything in these little shells and the kids would eat it . . . hmmm . . . what to try next?!
Serves: 6-8
15 minPrep Time
50 minCook Time
1 hr, 5 Total Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 24 jumbo pasta shells, cooked and cooled
- 1 (26 ounce) jar pasta sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Brown sausage and onion over medium heat in a large saucepan; when meat is no longer pink, drain.
- Transfer meat to a large bowl. Add in the spinach, cream cheese and egg; stir well.
- Add 1 cup mozzarella cheese, all the cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper and mix until well combined.
- Stuff pasta shells with sausage mixture and place stuffed shell in prepared pan. Once all the shells are stuffed, spoon the sauce over the shells.
- Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
- Uncover; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.
- Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until bubbly and cheese is melted.
- Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
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