Northern Italian Pasta Shell Stuffing

Total Time: 1 hr 25 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 3 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach
• 3 lbs ground round
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 -2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 large onions
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 ounces sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
• salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground oregano
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 large eggs
• 1 (1 lb) package jumbo pasta shells
• 2 cups tomato sauce (your own or ready made, i used barilla al forno sauce)

Recipe

• 1 preheat the oven to 350ºf.
• 2 place frozen spinach in strainer and run under hot water until thawed.
• 3 squeeze all the water out and place in large bowl.
• 4 in large sauté pan,add in 1/2 olive oil, sauté onions & mushrooms, for at least 5 minutes or until tender.
• 5 add garlic and sauté for another minute.
• 6 remove from sauté pan and add ground round,oregano, italian seasoning and 1 bay leaf, until browned.
• 7 drain meat and place in the same bowl with spinach.
• 8 stir in the cream cheese, onion mixture, meat and spinach until well combined.
• 9 add grated cheese, salt and pepper, to taste, and combine.
• 10 let mxiture cool and then add eggs; the filling can be made up to 1 day in advance and refrigerated until ready to use.
• 11 cook pasta shells, according to pkg directions.
• 12 drain and cool to the touch.
• 13 stuff the shells with the meat mixture.
• 14 place shells in large baking pan and cover with the tomato sauce.
• 15 cover with foil and bake for approximately 1 hour.
• 16 use some more more of the parmiagiano-reggiano and sprinkle over the top; place in oven again and cook for 1-3 minutes longer.
• 17 serve with a nice glass of red wine and a tossed green salad!