Spinach Pesto And Beef Stuffed Shells Recipes

STUFFED PASTA SHELLS WITH GROUND BEEF AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Season liberally with salt. It should be as salty as the sea.
• Heat a large skillet with high sides to a medium-low heat. Add olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add 1/4 cup of the onion and half of the garlic. Saute for 1-2 minutes until slightly softened and fragrant. Season with a little bit of salt and pepper. Add in red wine. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer until reduced by half.
• Whisk in tomato paste. Cook for 1 minute. Whisk in water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, sugar, and italian seasoning. Bring to a boil and reduce to a low simmer. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• In another medium non-stick skillet. Cook the ground beef until slightly browned and almost all the way cooked through. If any excess grease is produced, drain. Add remaining onion, garlic, and 1 teaspoon salt. Continue to cook until beef is cooked all the way through and onion and garlic are soft, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
• Drop the pasta shells in the water and cook until aldente.(I like to cook them all even though we only use 12 becaue some will bread.) DO NOT OVER COOK. Use a slotted spoon to pull the shells out one by one. Drain of any excess water and let cool.
• Once the beef has cooled slightly, add remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, spinach, ricotta, parmesan cheese, and egg. Mix to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (I added an extra 1/4 teaspoon of salt, but I like things on the saltier side.)
• Transfer filling to a large ziplock bag. Cut off about 3/4-inch of the tip. Pipe the filling into the cooled shells. Turn the heat off on the sauce and arrange shells in the pan. (If you're using store-bought marinara, just pour the marinara into a skillet with high sides and arrange the stuffed shells in the pan.)
• Spoon a little bit of the sauce on top of the shells, but don't completely cover them. Sprinkle shells with mozzarella. Bake until cheese has melted and sauce is bubbly and hot, about 20 minutes. Garnish with extra parmesan cheese.

SPINACH, PESTO, AND BEEF STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• Brown the ground meat and season well with salt and pepper.
• Drain off the grease and put in a large bowl.
• Boil the shells, drain and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In the same skillet in which you browned the meat, add some olive oil and saute the spinach until completely done.
• Mix the pesto, cream cheese, Parmesan and spinach into the ground meat.
• Pour a little marinara into a large (large enough to hold all the manicotti in one layer) casserole dish, enough to allow the shells to sit on and not stick to the bottom of the dish.
• Then stuff the shells with the meat mixture and lay the stuffed shells into the casserole.
• Top each shell with Provolone.
• Pour remaining marinara over shells, top with shredded mozzarella.
• Bake for 45-60 minutes, until hot and bubbly with the cheese all melted but not too browned.

SPINACH, PESTO, AND BEEF STUFFED MANICOTTI

Steps:

• 1. Brown the ground meat and season well with salt and pepper. Drain off the grease and put in a large bowl.
• 2. Boil the shells, according to package, drain and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• 3. In the same skillet in which you browned the meat, add some olive oil and saute the spinach until completely done.
• 4. Mix the pesto, cream cheese, Parmesan and spinach into the ground meat.
• 5. Pour a little marinara into a large (large enough to hold all the manicotti in one layer) casserole dish, enough to allow the shells to sit on and not stick to the bottom of the dish.
• 6. Then stuff the shells with the meat mixture and lay the stuffed shells into the casserole.
• 7. Top each shell with Provolone. Pour remaining marinara over shells, top with shredded mozzarella.
• 8. Bake for 45-60 minutes according to your oven temperature, until hot and bubbly with the cheese all melted but not too browned.

RICOTTA-STUFFED SHELLS WITH PESTO

Steps:

• Put a large pot of well-salted water over high heat, and bring to a boil. Add the pasta shells, put the lid on the pot to help water return to a boil, then remove lid, stir pasta and continue cooking, uncovered until al dente, usually abut 10 minutes. (It's better to err on the undercooked side than risk flabby pasta, so check early and often.)
• Remove pasta from pot and cool in a large bowl of water. Drain well and spread cooked shells on a baking sheet lined with a kitchen towel.
• Meanwhile, make the ricotta filling: In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, eggs, scallions, parsley, thyme, lemon zest and juice, and crushed red pepper to taste. Add grated Parmesan and pecorino. Season well with salt and pepper and mix well to incorporate ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a large shallow baking dish (use 2 dishes if necessary). Using a spoon or pastry bag, put about 1 tablespoon ricotta mixture into each pasta shell. Arrange the filled shells in one layer in the baking dish, packed closely together. Drizzle surface lightly with olive oil, or use a small brush to lightly paint each shell.
• Sprinkle top with 1/4 cup pecorino and bread crumbs and bake, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, until heated through, crisp and golden brown.
• To make the pesto, pulse basil, parsley, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a blender or food processor until roughly chopped. Add oil slowly and blend well. Add a little pepper, taste and adjust seasoning and transfer to a serving bowl.
• To serve, drizzle shells with a little pesto sauce and pass the rest at the table.

SPINACH STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• preheat oven 350.
• cook jumbo shells according to pkg direction: drain, reserve 1/2 c pasta water.
• cook ground beef.
• stir in oil, spinach, onion, garlic.
• add some of the pasta water until blended well.
• let mixture cool.
• stir in egg and parmesan cheese.
• Freeze stuffing if making it for a freezer recipe.
• Serving Directions: pour 1 c tomato basil sauce into 13x9 baking dish.
• fill jumbo shells with meat mixture; place in dish.
• pour remaining sauce over shells.
• cover with foil.
• bake 30 min or until thoroughly heated.

SPINACH AND CHEESE STUFFED PASTA SHELLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, gently place pasta shells in boiling water; bring water back to boil. Cook until noodles are just tender; drain well.
• Squeeze spinach dry. Combine spinach, ricotta, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, fennel, basil and garlic in a large mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper; mix well.
• Spread 1/2 cup marinara sauce evenly over the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• Fill each pasta shell with the spinach cheese mixture. Arrange the shells, filling side up in the baking dish. Spoon remaining marinara sauce over the shells. Sprinkle remaining Parmesan cheese on top of the shells.
• Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven until heated through; about 30 minutes.

EASY BEEF-STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• Cook pasta shells according to package directions to al dente; drain and rinse in cold water. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, 1-1/2 cups Italian cheese blend, Parmesan cheese, pesto, egg and half of the beef mixture., Spread 3/4 cup spaghetti sauce into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Spoon cheese mixture into pasta shells; place in baking dish. Combine remaining beef mixture and spaghetti sauce; pour over shells. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight., Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°. Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover; bake until cheese is melted, 5-10 minutes longer.