No Bulldogs Were Denied Pasta in the Making of This Dinner

Stuffed Shells

What’s For Dinner?

This actually isn’t one of my favorite meals, but it is a dish that’s nastalgic because my sister would request this meal every birthday and it’s her half birthday today, so WHY NOT? No, we don’t really celebrate half-birthdays but hey!

1. I had the ingredients
2. My sister is the bomb.com
3. My sister’s name is Shell (Shelly, Me-shell my belle, Shillster, Shell why ain’t you at the beach, Shell… and many more that don’t make sense if you’re not part of the S&S duo)
4. We live in different time zones, so creativity is a necessity to feel close
5. This is Fluffy’s (pictured in the bottom left corner of two of the pictures) favorite dish too

Making the Business

1. Preheat oven to 375°
2. Cook pasta shells in salted water until al’ dente. Quantity is contingent on your level of hangry.
3. Cook meat and onions with basil, oregano, basil, garlic powder, Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning (I put it on everything… even my cheerios), and black pepper.
4. Drain meat and onion mix (or blot with some Bounty quicker picker upper) and mix together with ricotta and mozzarella cheese. Again with the measuring… how much of a cheese-a-holic are you? I prefer cheese over most food groups so… I used an 8oz block of mozz and 12 oz of ricotta
5. Simmer 2 8oz cans of tomato sauce with parsley, fresh garlic, red pepper flakes, oregano, rosemary, basil, pepper, and you guessed it, Slap Ya Mama. Leave on the stove top until it bubbles.
6. Spoon a layer of sauce at the bottom of a 8X8 or smaller dish.
7. Sprinkle/dust/fairy dust sparkle with grated Parmesan and then begin arranging shells on top of your saucy foundation.
8. After each is stuffed with your ricotta goodness, pour on the rest of your sauce and top with any remaining cheese in your crisper.
9. Bake for 20 minutes, unless you have a hungry Bulldog. Then just leave in long enough to melt the top of the cheese (10 or so minutes)