Spinach-Ricotta Stuffed Shells

These shells were one of the dishes I made for a dinner party the other week. They were deliciously stuffed with clouds of ricotta and spinach and smothered with marinara sauce. They were also especially great because they could be made ahead and frozen until the day of the party. All you do is bake them for 30-40 minutes and they are ready. I will post some other dishes from the party later on this week. In the meantime, enjoy these heavenly stuffed shells!

Spinach-Ricotta Stuffed Shells

1 box jumbo pasta shells

15 oz ricotta cheese

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp dried parsley or 1 tbs fresh parsley

1 tsp dried basil

3/4 cup grated parmesan

salt 'n' peppa

pinch of nutmeg

8 oz mozzarella

10 oz frozen spinach, thawed

2 cups prepared marinara sauce

goat cheese, optional

1 Cook pasta shells al dente, drain and set aside. I drizzled some olive oil on them to prevent them from sticking.

2 Combine ricotta with eggs, parsley, basil, parmesan, salt, nutmeg, half of the mozzarella and spinach.

3 Lay the shells out on a baking sheet and stuff, one by one, with a large spoonful each.

4 Pour half of the marinara sauce on the bottom of a large baking dish (or two small ones). Then place the stuffed shells on the coated dish. Pour the rest of the sauce over the shells, then sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella on top. (I sprinkled some goat cheese over the mozzarella because I had some leftover that I wanted to finish, completely optional)

At this point, if you want to freeze them, cover with saran wrap, then aluminum and place in the freezer. When ready to bake, place in oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly and heated through.