Don’t be put off by the name of the recipe, it’s so good-one of my standbys. When I first started making it, oh, a million years ago, I had a hard time dealing with the shells, but nowadays it’s totally easy. I think I might have skipped the “rinse under cold water” step.
From the Toronto Star, adapted by me.
1 250g box jumbo pasta shells
1 bag spinach, chopped*
1 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella
300g ricotta
1/2 cup parmesan
1 tbsp dried basil OR 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper
1 700 ml jar spaghetti sauce (I prefer the spicy kind, but with kids, I use regular tomato basil) OR use the equivalent amount of home made-much nicer indeed.
1. Cook the pasta shells according to the box, usually 10-12 minutes, then drain and rinse under COLD WATER. Important unless you have asbestos hands.
2. Steam the spinach until wilted, 4 minutes, place in colander and squeeze dry with a spoon.
3. Heat oil over medium heat and cook onion until lightly golden.
4. In a bowl, combine spinach, onion, egg, 3/4 mozarella, ricotta, parmesan, basil, season with salt and pepper. Place one rounded tablespoon of mixture in each pasta shell**. Spread 1 cup tomato sauce in the bottom of a 8X8 or 9X9 square pan, place shells on top, top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with the rest of the mozarella.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 oven about 30 minutes or until cheese is golden and sauce is bubbling.
Serves 6-8***
* You could use a block of frozen spinach, what the hell. They’re cheap and just as nutritious.
** Tonight I scraped the filling into a ziploc bag and cut the corner off and squeezed it into the cooked pasta shells. Neater and easier although maybe a little wasteful.
*** Or 2 adults, a 6 year old and a 7 year old with a few leftover for lunch tomorrow.
I have no idea if this is freezable. Probably. That was my plan, I used 2 loaf pans instead of a regular 8×8 pan, just in case I needed to freeze one for a later date. I also use cooking spray on the pans before I put anything in them to save me future heartache.
That sounds really good! It sounds a lot like the manicotti my mom makes, which is supreme.
I was going to make it into spaghetti pie (which uses cooked spaghetti mixed with an egg for a crust and then the ricotta on top, with sauce and cheese) but Shannon thought it sounded HORRIBLE so I went with what I knew is an easy hit.
I also bought lasagna noodles, maybe one day I will use them. It’s such an enormous amount of work, though, I don’t know.
Well I know what I am making for dinner now!
:D
Has to be sock yarn for the acorns? I am doing some snooping. I think we’d probably easily hang a dozen, maybe even 20 on a tree? Believe it or not there is an asian food store here now, and they sell various yarns, as does the “Stedmans”. The Philosophers Wool Co is near us, but their wool is wool-wool (and gaw-gus) but probably not what you are looking to use for acorns I’m guessing?
What kinds of wool or yarns are you yearning for anyway?
Like in general, I mean.
Always sock yarn. I love the striping kind, in whatever colours you like. Sock yarn’s very skinny, barely thicker than embroidery floss. Most yarns would be too thick to do much with-each acorn is only 10 single chains around, which is nothing. Ok, the bigger ones are 14, I think. I prefer yarn that’s soft, when I am shopping for yarn I rub it on my cheek to see if I could stand it being next to my skin for a scarf or hat. And I am not terribly fussy about content, wool’s nice, so is bamboo and soy and acrylic and combinations of all of them!
I think it’s about time I jumped on the acorn train! I may commission you to make some closer to Christmas, seeing as I have an entire side of the family with Oke for a last name…and we’re all nuts. HAHAHA GET IT?????
Ha ha?
Just tell me what you want, ok Ali, no more ‘funny’ stuff.
HAHAHAAAA! STFU!