Last night, I was gathering all the dry ingredients so it would be ready& together for cooking time. That is when I realized my giant mistake. I did NOT have big shells. I only had Rotini noodles. Please don't ask how I mixed that up. After panicking for a bit, I decided I would make it work. i would turn it into a casserole. As i was thinking about the conversion process, I realized it wouldn't have any meat cuz the Stuffed Shells recipe didn't include meat. Casserole without meat?! Unthinkable!!
We were about to have a Carnivore Crisis!! Alas, no worries....we always have meatballs in the freezer. Whew! Carnivore Crisis averted.
Below, is my version of the "Stuffed Shell Recipe" from the link above. I will also include my notes, changes & observations as usual. I hope you enjoy!
Ingredients:
16 oz box Rotini Noodles
1 15-oz container ricotta cheese
4 cups Italian Cheeses Mix (Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan, Romano, Fontina & Asiago) ** I choose to get the cheeses pre-mixed & shredded cuz I am lazy & cheap like that.
12 oz cottage cheese
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
30+ oz of your favorite marinara sauce **I used 24 ozs and it just wasn't quite enough. Next time I would add more sauce
10-12 oz frozen spinach, defrosted with liquid wrung out **I used 10 ozs. Hubs requested more spinach next time
1/2 bag of frozen meatballs **Or you can even use 2 lbs ground beef
small amt Worcestershire Sauce & Butter (to brown meatballs in)
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2) Put butter & Worcestershire in skillet & heat on medium. Add meatballs & cover. Cook until meatballs are browned and heated through.
3a) Boil the pasta in salted water. Make sure it is Al Dente , cuz it will cook a bit more in oven. Drain.
3b) While water is boiling for pasta, In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, cottage cheese, Italian cheeses, salt, pepper, n and spinach. Mix well. **Reserve about 1 1/3 cups cheese until later
4) Add Pasta & meatballs to big bowl & mix gently (don't want to destroy the pasta)
5) Spoon mixture into your greased casserole dishes. Spread smooth. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.
6) Cover with tin foil and bake 30 minutes.
7) Remove tin foil and bake an additional 5-10 minutes to brown the top of the casserole.
VOILA! You are done. Let cool & then serve!