Pasta shells with cheese, spinach and very salty ham - a great way to repurpose a nearly inedible hunk of meat.
Ham, Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Pasta ShellsAnother variation of stuffed shells, this time to use up a bunch of very salty left-over ham. The ham was trimmed of all visible fat and put through a meat grinder and it virtually disappears into the cheese and spinach. These were the best tasting shells ever!
4 shells per person is a nice portion. Yield: 118 total shells |
Add some sauce, and a side salad for a complete meal
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Ingredients:
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One 12 oz box of shells makes 40 usable stuffed shells. 2 broken shells were discarded
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Preparation:
Briefly cook spinach (cook for half the time it says to on the box - just to warm through and remove that raw taste), cool, and squeeze out all the excess moisture. This is an important step if you don't want soggy shells.
Thoroughly mix all ingredients except pasta in huge bowl.
Cook pasta according to package directions (we added 2 minutes to the recommended cooking time as the pasta was a bit too al dente). Cool shells on large sheet pan.
Stuff shells with cheese mixture, approximately 2 tablespoons per shell, or as much as they will hold. Freeze on wax-paper lined sheet pan until frozen solid. Wrap as tightly as possible to remove all the air you can, and mark package with the date, "Cheese Spinach Shells" and the quantity in the package. We vacuum sealed them in bags of 8 shells so they are enough for both of us for a meal.
I did this recipe in three batches, using one box of shells at a time, stuffing each batch and sending it to the freezer before doing the next batch.
Briefly cook spinach (cook for half the time it says to on the box - just to warm through and remove that raw taste), cool, and squeeze out all the excess moisture. This is an important step if you don't want soggy shells.
Thoroughly mix all ingredients except pasta in huge bowl.
Cook pasta according to package directions (we added 2 minutes to the recommended cooking time as the pasta was a bit too al dente). Cool shells on large sheet pan.
Stuff shells with cheese mixture, approximately 2 tablespoons per shell, or as much as they will hold. Freeze on wax-paper lined sheet pan until frozen solid. Wrap as tightly as possible to remove all the air you can, and mark package with the date, "Cheese Spinach Shells" and the quantity in the package. We vacuum sealed them in bags of 8 shells so they are enough for both of us for a meal.
I did this recipe in three batches, using one box of shells at a time, stuffing each batch and sending it to the freezer before doing the next batch.
Frozen meal for 2 vacuum packed in the the freezer begging to get sauced
Baking Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375°
Shells can be cooked from frozen or defrosted. Instructions are from frozen. Deduct 15 minutes if your shells are defrosted.
Pour 1/2 cup red or white pasta sauce into baking dish which is just big enough to hold the shells. Add a couple tablespoons of water to thin the sauce. Top each shell with about 2-3 tablespoons of sauce, to cover the cheese. If you have some cheese on hand to sprinkle on top, I highly recommend a bit of Parmesan and/or Mozzarella. If you don't have cheese, it's ok - they will still be great.
Cover dish with tin foil and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. If desired you can remove the foil for the last 15 minutes to brown the cheese on top (if there is any). Cool in pan for about 10 minutes before serving.
Preheat oven to 375°
Shells can be cooked from frozen or defrosted. Instructions are from frozen. Deduct 15 minutes if your shells are defrosted.
Pour 1/2 cup red or white pasta sauce into baking dish which is just big enough to hold the shells. Add a couple tablespoons of water to thin the sauce. Top each shell with about 2-3 tablespoons of sauce, to cover the cheese. If you have some cheese on hand to sprinkle on top, I highly recommend a bit of Parmesan and/or Mozzarella. If you don't have cheese, it's ok - they will still be great.
Cover dish with tin foil and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. If desired you can remove the foil for the last 15 minutes to brown the cheese on top (if there is any). Cool in pan for about 10 minutes before serving.
©2014 Laura Delanty, Wife With A Knife - All Rights Reserved
