Stuffed Shells

We are back to celebrating Sunday Suppers in an effort to return to some sort of normalcy.  With only three weeks left to summer break, slowly but surely, we need to break some bad habits that we've embraced since being confined to our homes last March.  What better way to start than breaking bread as a family.


My boys love Italian food so I introduced them to stuffed shells.  Here is everything you need to grab at the store this weekend and how to prepare.

Grocery List
1 tablespoon olive oil
half an onion chopped (I use yellow - Vidalia if you can get them)
minced garlic clove
1 pound of meat (I used ground turkey)
1 10 ounce pack of frozen spinach - thawed and drained
8 ounce pack of cream cheese softened (I use the light version and it tasted fine)
8 ounce pack of shredded Mozzarella cheese
2 cups Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 12 ounce package of large shells
Jar of favorite marinara sauce  *I'll share my homemade sauce soon but this dish is fine with the store bought stuff.

Assembly
Cook the shells according to package directions and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion and turkey and cook 5 minutes (or until brown and crumbly).  Remove from heat and stir in spinach, cream cheese, mozzarella and 1 1/2 cups of Parmesan and the salt & pepper.  Spoon mixture into shells.

Spray a baking pan with cooking spray and pour half the sauce on to cover.  Place the shells in the pan and cover with the remaining sauce.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Top with the last 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and cook another 10 minutes.

Dig in!