This post is sponsored by The National Frozen and Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA). I was compensated for my time. All opinions are 100% mine.
Fall is finally here and hurricane season only has two months left! We’re counting down the days until hurricane season is over here in Florida and crossing our fingers that we don’t get hit with another big one in the next few weeks. Our family was fortunate enough not to have any major damage. And we only had to be without our electricity for a week. We’ve had much longer stretches without lights in the past, so we’re very grateful.
And now that fall is officially here, I’ve been thinking more and more about hearty comfort food recipes. Pasta is by far my favorite comfort food, and you can make it in so many ways. My son’s favorite way is to make stuffed manicotti or shells like I’ve done here.
I decided to make these stuffed shells with meatballs and mozzarella. To get this recipe started you need just a few ingredients – Rosina meatballs, Birdseye Spinach, Galbani Mozzarella, a package of large shells and a jar of your favorite pasta sauce.
You first take the jumbo shells and cook them according to package directions and drain them. While they are cooking, heat the meatballs in a skillet and slice the mozzarella in small pieces that will fit inside the shells as shown. I like to cut the block of mozzarella in 64 equal pieces. This gives plenty for the shells and lots of little pieces for the top.
There’s going to be a lot of shells. I like to just stuff them all in my largest casserole dish.
Next, I take some defrosted spinach and squeeze out all the water in a strainer. Then, I combine that with some marinara sauce and pour it over the shells. Adding spinach boosts the nutrition of this dish and it tastes great too!
Lastly, I just place those remaining pieces of cheese on top and then put it in the oven until it gets nice and melty.
Your whole family is not only going to love to help make this, but they’re going to love eating it too. It’s so delicious and perfect to make any day of the week. And no need to make an additional salad with this pasta dish because the green veggies are already in it!
You can find all kinds if ingredients to make family favorite meals like these shells with meatballs in your grocer’s freezer aisle. There are also many quality, pre-prepared meals to choose from that are perfect keep stocked in your freezer. You can also find so many more ingredients for simple breakfasts, lunches as well as fast and easy dinners for your busy lifestyle.
Don’t forget the dairy aisle! There’s much more than just milk butter and cheese. You can find fresh juices, yogurts, oven ready biscuits, croissants and so much more. These items make your busy life simpler and more delicious.
And for more mealtime inspiration, visit www.EasyHomeMeals.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram too!
Yield: 8 servings
Heat oven to 350°. Prepare jumbo shells according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cool water.
Heat meatballs in a medium skillet with a small amount of water until heated through.
Cut the block of mozzarella in 64 equally sized pieces that are about 2 inches long.
Rinse and drain spinach and press all the excess water out. Combine with spaghetti sauce in a medium bowl.
Grease a large casserole dish with nonstick spray. Take one jumbo shell and stuff with a meat ball and a small piece of mozzarella as shown in photo. Place in casserole dish. Continue stuffing the shells and placing in casserole dish.
Pour spaghetti sauce and spinach mixture over shells and place the remaining cheese on top of shells and sauce.
Bake shells at 350° for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
This post is sponsored by The National Frozen and Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA). I was compensated for my time. All opinions are 100% mine.