Stuffed Shells Florentine-EDITED!

Stuffed Shells Florentine

Sooo...apparently I didn't do a very good job of personalizing this post, which I will admit. Although, in my credit, I did write this very early on Tuesday morning, after Tony left for work, but before I got ready to go in for a long day.

I really enjoy making this dish--probably because it's so simple, and notably, cheap. Tony's mom sends us a bunch of goodies every now and then from a Mennonite store about 20 minutes from their house. When we visited I fell in love with the store, because they sell bulk items for cheap (basically, they just repackage them), and because they have a large selection of teas, which I love. They also sell my favorite brand of kitchen utensils, which I believe are also supplied from a Mennonite surplus store. At any rate, in the care packages she sends there is sometimes a bag of these shells. At first, I didn't really know what to do with them, then I found this recipe for stuffed shells Florentine, and the bag of shells found its calling.

This is one of Tony's favorites, and since I don't make it often, he's always pretty happy when this goes on the table. The coffee table. Please, I'm a graduate student. My dining room table is for storing stuff. Now, the coffee table--that's made for eatin' supper.

*Recipe for 2*

Ingredients:

1 cup cottage cheese (small curd) or ricotta cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2-3/4 cup of cooked spinach (either canned, frozen, or fresh)
8-10 Jumbo sized stuffing pasta shells
1.5 cups favorite pasta sauce

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350F, and coat a medium sized baking dish with cooking spray(a large lasagna pan works also for a larger recipe).

2. Heat appropriate amount of water to boil the shells, and bring to a rapid boil. Add the shells and cook until al dente, for about 9 minutes. Drain, and lightly coat with olive oil to prevent sticking.

3. In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the cottage cheese, Parmesan and spinach until mixed thoroughly.

4. Carefully (these shells can be hot!) stuff the shells full of the cheese mixture.

5. Coat the bottom of the baking pan with a thin layer of pasta sauce. Carefully place the shells in the pan. (I don't have a particular orientation I use, normally the stuffing is visible, though.)

6. Spoon on the rest of the pasta sauce on top of the shells and surrounding them, covering them thoroughly.

7. If you have any leftover Parmesan, sprinkle a little bit on top of the shells. Place the pan in the oven for about 25-30 minutes, or until sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted.

Enjoy! I hope the edit added enough personality for ya'll :).