kitchen, cooking, cleaning tips: Mushroom and Spinach Stuffed Shells

My friend Kyle was telling me that her Mom used to make a really good stuffed shells recipe. I saw some shells at the store and decided to try to make my own stuffed shells. They were messy to make (and difficult to photograph) but they tasted fantastic. I used leftover roasted tomato, garlic and onion marinara. If you don't have time to make the marinara sauce, just use your favorite store bought marinara. The creamy ricotta was excellent with the tangy marinara sauce and I loved the flavor of the mushrooms. We all really enjoyed this dish and it made an excellent lunch the next day. Thanks for the inspiration Kyle.

Stuffed Shells:

1 tbsp olive oil
8 oz white button mushrooms, sliced
1/4 sweet yellow onion, diced finely
1 15 oz ricotta cheese - I used low fat
1 egg
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded (divided)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (divided)
1/2 cup of fresh spinach, chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (divided)
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp dried basil
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
1/8 tsp nutmeg
3 cups of roasted tomato, garlic and onion marinara
12 jumbo pasta shells, cooked per instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the mushrooms and onions and sauté until golden brown (about 5-6 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl combine the ricotta, 1/4 cup of the mozzarella, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, the egg, the spinach, 1/2 the parsley, fresh basil, the nutmeg, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly then add the mushrooms and onion sauté and combine. Taste mixture and re-season if needed.

Pour 1/2 cup of marinara in the bottom of a baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray. Place the 12 cooked shells in the pan. Stuff each shell with the ricotta and mushroom mixture.

Pour the remaining sauce over the stuffed shells. Add the last 1/2 cup of mozzarella and 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Sprinkle the dried basil on top.