Meatless Monday - Stuffed Shells

I have to be honest with you...I don't always have a "Meatless Monday."  Sometimes it's a Meatless Thursday, or Fish (which isn't really meat) Tuesday.  My point is that I try to cook some sort of meatless meal at least once a week.  For no other reason than I feel it's healthier to not eat meat every single day.  Don't get me wrong.  I love me some meat.  A big, juicy, medium rare steak?  Yum.  But I feel that a meatless day helps cleanse the system and makes sure I'm getting a good amount of veggies in my diet.

Okay, now that that's off my chest let me share another vegetarian, but completely filling, dinner.  Stuffed Shells.  I think I had seen a picture of shells while perusing various food blogs and automatically had a craving for them.  So I did what I almost always do....googled a recipe and found this recipe for shells stuffed with ricotta.  It was pretty easy to put together, though it does require getting your hands a little messy while stuffing the shells.  My husband LOVED this dish and was happy to eat leftovers for days.  I found that the ricotta was just a bit too much for me.  It was good, but I got tired of it by the end of the meal.  I would definitely make this again, but next time I think I'll make a meaty version with ground beef mixed in with the ricotta.

Stuffed Shells - from allrecipes

1 package jumbo pasta shells
2 eggs, beaten
1 (32 oz) container ricotta cheese
1 lb shredded mozzarella, divided
8 oz grated Parmesan, divided
1 Tablespoon dried parsley - I used fresh because that's what I had on hand
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 jar pasta sauce  
8 oz sliced fresh mushrooms

1.  Preheat oven to 350.

2.  Boil pasta according to package directions.  Drain and rinse.

3.  In a large bowl mix eggs, ricotta, half of the mozzarella and Parmesan, parsley, salt and pepper.  I also threw in a handful of shredded fresh basil.

4.  Stuff each shell with the ricotta mixture.  Place shells into a 9x13 pan.  You'll mostly likely have to layer some of them.  I stuffed each shell pretty full and still had plenty of ricotta mixture leftover.

5.  In a medium bowl, mix together the pasta sauce, mushrooms, and leftover mozzarella and Parmesan.  Pour over the stuffed shells.

6.  Bake for 45-60 minutes.

Enjoy with a garlic toast and a nice glass of wine.  Or two.

**Note - This recipe makes quite a bit, so you'll probably have leftovers for a day or two!