Stuffed Shells

I wanted to share my recipe for stuffed shells. This is a favorite dinner around here - Troy loves them! I happen to be pretty fond of them too - but,they don't get made too often...

INGREDIENTS:
1 Box of Jumbo Shells
2 Jars of Sauce (I use either a 4 cheese sauce or a marinara sauce)
1 Carton of Cottage Cheese (I use lowfat, small curd)
2 c. Mozzarella Cheese
1 c. Cheddar Cheese
1/4 c. Parmesan Cheese
3/4 c. Fontina Cheese - optional
1 egg, beaten
Kosher Salt
Pepper
1/4 cup onion, diced
Garlic
1/2 lb. ground beef, browned - OPTIONAL

In a large pot, bring some water to boil and throw in the shells. DON'T cook them all the way. I usually boil mine for about 6 minutes or so - you are going to be baking these later on, so don't cook them until they are completely soft.

Mix together the cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, egg, diced onion, pepper, salt, & garlic. Throw in the rest of the cheeses and mix together thoroughly.

If you decide to use ground beef in your sauce, go ahead and brown the beef (season with salt, pepper, & garlic) and then mix in 1 jar of sauce.

 Take a deep casserole dish and grease lightly. Line up the shells, cheese mixture and casserole dish in assembly line fashion. Spread a little sauce around in the bottom of the casserole dish. Start stuffing the shells with the cheese mixture and lay them down in the pan. Once all of the shells are stuffed (or the dish is full), cover the top with sauce. If additional sauce is needed, open the other jar and spread on top (I usually use about a jar and a half of sauce). Cover with foil and place in oven heated to 400 degrees. Cook until bubbly and cheese is melted. Take off foil and sprinkle with additional mozzarella cheese and cook for a couple more minutes until cheese is melted.

Serve & enjoy!