Meat-Stuffed Pasta Shells

Meat-Stuffed Pasts Shells

I was inspired by this recipe, but I made up my own recipe as I went.

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. box JUMBO shell pasta
• 1 lb. Italian sausage
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 container fresh mushrooms, chopped
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1 jar (24 oz. or larger) spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Set cooked shells, open side facing down, on two layers of paper towels (I laid mine out on my counter).
2. Chop mushrooms into fairly small pieces and brown in a skillet.  I didn't use any oil or even spray; just sauteed the mushrooms until they were tender and slightly browned.  Set mushrooms aside in a large bowl.
3. Brown the Italian sausage.  As it cooks, break it into small bits.  Add sausage to mushrooms in the bowl.
4. Brown the ground beef.  As it cooks, break it into small bits.  Add to the bowl with mushrooms and sausage.
5. Add beaten eggs and bread crumbs to meat/mushroom mixture and stir to combine.
6. Put a thin layer of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
7. Press 1-2 tablespoons of meat mixture into each pasta shell.  I used my 1.5 tablespoon scoop.  Place filled shells, open side facing up, in a 9x13 pan.  My mixture filled 36 pasta shells.  I used a foil pan, and I CRAMMED all 36 shells in one pan.  
8. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over stuffed pasta shells.  Cover pan with foil and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until hot all the way through.  Remove foil, cover with shredded mozzarella, and bake an additional 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted. 

 Enjoy!

Jessica