Mushroom Stuffed Shells

I'm back!  I'm sorry for my lack of blogging, I've just had so much going on and to be honest I think I misplaced my motivation for awhile as well.  Sometimes you just need a break and I decided to just let myself take one.  Although I was breaking from blogging, I didn't stop trying out new recipes and I have some wonderful ones to share with you.  I really can't even remember how I ever found anything online before Pinterest.  Did I have to google everything?  That sounds horrible!

Without further ado, I have one of my favorite cool weather recipes to share with you.  For those of you in the states that actually have seasons, this is a great time of year to make this.  For those of you also in AZ, you might want to whip this up soon since we're already hitting the 80's and it's only going downhill from here!

I stumbled upon a stuffed shells recipe and made a few tweeks until I was completely in love with it.  It's one of my favorite dishes to make during the week because it reheats well and we have delicious leftovers for days after.

Stuffed Shells

Slightly adapted from: 101cookbooks.com

8-10 servings

Sauce Ingredients

1/3 c. olive oil

1 ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

dash of salt

6 garlic cloves (this translates to 2-3 large spoonfuls of minced garlic to me...)

28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

14 oz. can chopped tomatoes

Filling Ingredients

15 oz. container light ricotta cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 c. grated mozzarella

1 bunch chives, chopped

lemon zest (1/3 of lemon)

1 lb. baby bella mushrooms, sliced

butter or oil for cooking

25-30 jumbo dried pasta shells

Put a large pot to boil and prepare shells in well-salted water according to directions (prepare al dente).  DO NOT OVERCOOK shells.  In the meantime, make the sauce and filling.  If noodles are cooked before sauce and filling is ready, I drain them and drizzle a bit of olive oil over them to keep them from sticking together.

To make sauce – combine olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt, and garlic in saucepan.  Sauté for about a minute or until fragrant.  Stir in tomatoes and heat to gentle simmer.  Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.  Simmer until ready to assemble shells.

To make filling – Sauté mushrooms in butter or oil until cooked (I start with 1 TB butter or oil and add more as needed).  Mushrooms will release liquid, darken, and will be very tender.  I typically sample quite a few just to make sure they are done :)

Combine all filling ingredients in medium bowl and mix well.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and begin assembling shells.

Spread 1/3 of sauce across bottom of 9 x 13 pan.  Fill each shell with filling and arrange in a single layer across pan. (I like to lay out the filled shells on a cutting board so I can adjust the filling as needed).  Ladle remaining sauce over shells, cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes, removing foil after 15 minutes.  

Enjoy!  I'd love to know what you think if you try these.  They can be very addicting!