Stuffed Shells for Two are savory, filling, and best of all, EASY!
I’ve been instructed to “blog fast,” however, I’m bursting!
Not only is today Valentine’s Day, but I had a super productive day at work, squeezed in a quick-yet-tough workout this afternoon and, to top it all off, it was over 40 degrees today AND we’re supposed to be in the 60s later this week – wheee!
Southerners and West Coasters – get ready to giggle – but I put the sun roof down on my car to let the 41 degree breeze in while driving home… Us Midwesterners know that anything over 25 degrees in the dead of winter is reason to celebrate, and celebrate I did.
My other reason to celebrate? Valentine’s Day dinner was practically DONE by the time I got home, since Ben and I pre-made it yesterday afternoon – Stuffed Shells!
Stuffed Shells for Two
Description
Stuffed Shells for Two are savory, filling, and best of all, easy!
Ingredients
- 1 box jumbo shells (you’ll need about 25 shells)
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- garlic salt, pepper, onion powder, Italian seasoning to taste
- 1/3 cup reserved pasta cooking water
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese, divided
- 16 oz marinara sauce
Directions
- Cook shells according to package direction. Reserve 1/3 cup pasta cooking water, drain the rest and set aside.
- Cook ground beef until no longer pink, drain and return to the pot. Stir in seasonings, reserved pasta cooking water, parmesan cheese, egg and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
- Cover the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with a thin layer of marinara sauce. Spoon the beef mixture into the cooked shells until full, then lay into the dish. (If you are making ahead of time, cover the dish with foil at this point and refrigerate.) Spoon remaining marinara sauce over the stuffed shells, and top with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese.
- Bake, loosely covered with foil, in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted. Remove foil and broil for a few minutes until the cheese is golden brown.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Stuffed shells y’all! I know Ben and I did our special Valentine’s Day dinner last night, but Ben luuuuuuurves stuffed shells/lasagna, so I thought it’d be super special to make these tonight.
I always shy away from making stuffed shells because I think they’ll be too time-consuming and messy – but honestly these were a cinch to make!
The beef mixture comes together really well because of the egg and all. that. cheese. so it spoons in and sticks to the shells easily. Love that!!
On the side, Ben requested steamed Brussels Sprouts. RIGHT?! Who requests steamed brussels sprouts?! Blech!
He claims he’s been over-served roasted Brussels Sprouts. I’m sure I have no idea what he’s talking about…
In the interest of saving time – I sautéed my portion. Sorry, no love for the steamed BS!
I seasoned my halves with olive oil, garlic salt & pepper, crisped them up on one side in a hot skillet, flipped and let them brown up on the other side with the lid on so they could soften a bit. NOT STEAM – just, you know, soften…
They were sensational! Definitely remembering this the next time I don’t have time to roast them. This took less than 10 minutes total to cook!
As a luxurious side, I warmed a crusty baguette in the oven with the shells, sliced it up and served with some dipping oil and freshly cracked black pepper.
I used the Tuscan Herb Olive Oil my friends brought Ben and me a couple weeks ago from Chicago!
SO flavorful – like a flavor punch, actually.
I love bread. ‘Nuff said.
WE ARE STUFFED! PUN INTENDED!
I foresee a cupcake in my future. And some time spent with this fella.
Off to trade gifts – I can’t wait to show you the card I got him – it’s hysterical!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
~~~~~
How are you spending Valentine’s Day? With your sweetie, girl friends, boy friends, family? Dinner in or out? Dessert or no dessert? (Although I suspect I know the answer to that one already…)
We totally opened our sunroof yesterday – the sun felt nice!
Delicious supper! Those stuffed shells look amazing. There’s a great Italian restaurant in my city where they serve the crustiest bread with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese to go with it. Yum!
My husband is one a business trip this week. To celebrate, I made strawberry cupcakes for my students! :) We had strawberry cupcakes at our wedding, and loved it. My kids loved them, and I loved recreating a part of our wedding. My husband gets home on Friday. We’re exchanging gifts this upcoming weekend with a special date day. :)
My husband picked up some Chinese food. We love take-out! We’re now in our pj’s just lounging around.
I had dessert in lieu of dinner- molton lava cakes for two!
I completely understand why you put the sun roof down, but kind of despise the fact that the 40s make me just as giddy- if not more so :) It’s like some kind of midwestern sickness. I even understand the desire to pull out the shorts at 50 nowadays. Have a great evening!
Yay for the warm weather!!!!! It was 55 degrees in PA today and I about took out my bikini! Hello Spring!! :)
Mmm, what a great Vday dinner. Almost as good as the lobster. ;)
My windows were down as I left work! I love it when it gets warm for the first time!
Stuffed pasta makes my heart go a-flutter!! I’m so glad you two had a lovely meal, slash send me some of your warm weather?! Much appreciated:)
Chik-fil-A & Miller Lite on the couch with some SATC reruns. Gotta say, single girl Valentine’s Day doesn’t totally suck . . . :)
Ummm – that sounds amazing! ;)
I’m just heading out the door to have dinner with my bf. Not sure where we’re going, but I’m hoping it’s to our face Indian place, it’s where we went last year. We get dessert included with the meal there!
What a great dinner! I love steamed brussel sprouts… dipped in ketchup (I know right, so weird?)
I’m spending Valentine’s Day unlike any other because I’ve finally been able to reveal some big news — my Chobani commercial!!! — which is airing for the first time today (have you seen it yet?) :) My boyfriend also cooked us an amazing steak dinner so I really couldn’t ask for more today!
Happy Valentine’s Day to you and your hubs!
Wait – WHAAAAAAT?!?!!?!? That is AMAZING!!!! Is it online somewhere? I don’t think they show Chobani commercials out here in the Midwest! How exciting for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had my sunroof open yesterday! It has been so nice here in PA, we even took a nice long walk yesterday!
I took a yoga class tonight and just had an apple with caramel dip for dinner… not so great but it tasted good! I did eat some mashed potatoes and chicken when I got home from work earlier this afternoon though. Now munching on some pistachios and watching The Bachelor (which is so not like me… what the heck is up with me today?!)
^ fave* Indian place…where I hope to stuff my face* lol!
Cute post. Your dinner looks delicious! I’m right along with you – roasted brussel sprouts are the way to go. I can’t do steamed ones either. Blek.
I’m spending the evening with my husband. We’re getting ready to be super classy and go pick up fried chicken, mashed potatoes and biscuits, which we will enjoy with some Woodchuck cider while watching Nacho Libre. It should be fun AND delicious. I can’t wait.
Happy V-Day Kristin! Always enjoy your blog, thoroughly.
Hugs,
Dana
I’m going to a super romantic French restaurant…with my roommate (who’s a girl). Haha! We thought it would be funny to choose the most romantic restaurant nearby!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
We don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day very much…BUT since the hubby’s a teacher, he brings home all kinds of goodies the kids gave him…which I get to eat! Happy Valentine’s Day to me! :)
The stuffed shells look so good! We had a quiet dinner at home with some wine. It was just perfect! :)
My husband is sitting here looking over my shoulder, and when he saw the brussel sprouts, he emphatically stated that he would love for me to make them for him. I guess we will be trying them next week!
Fun meal! Bread and olive oil is one of my favorite appetizers – so easy and delicious!
We’re taking it easy tonight, as we celebrated Valentine’s this past weekend. Enjoy your night and that warmer weather that’s coming your way!
Wow, that meal looks awesome! I totally agree about the weather! I live in Chicago and totally opened the windows in my apartment because it was 40 degrees! Love this above-freezing weather!
We had parent-teacher conferences tonight so I spend the first part of my evening there. When I got home I stuffed my face with two slices of left-over pizza from my family’s dinner. Once the three boys are in bed though, my hubby and I are going to enjoy a glass of wine that is breathing as I type and a brownie (Left-over from the treats I took for of my student’s birthday’s today.) How romantic…..
We both have to work tonight, but we celebrated this past weekend in Omaha! We live about 2 hours away, so it was a nice get away, and we stayed at the same hotel as our wedding night, so it was special! We ate at #1 Omaha Italian restaurant Lo Sole Mio’s which was wonderful!!
What a fantastic Valentine’s Day dinner, I wish you would’ve been my Valentine lol
Omg that meal looks so goood! def gonna have to try that one! I spent tonight with two of my friends with homemade pizza, oatmeal peanut butter mnm cookies, red velvet cake balls, and Cupcake Red Velvet Wine (SOOOO Delish!) and of course Gossip Girl!
Hope you and Ben had a great night!
I made almost the *same* dish for my husband and I tonight! We had Spinach Cheese Stuffed Shells and roasted broccoli!
So jealous of your nice weather! It was -15 degrees with the windchill in Anchorage this morning!
I’m from Wisconsin (born and raised) although I live out in LA now. To this day, it still cracks me up when friends out here complain about “how cold” it is when it hits 60 degrees! I’m all, “60? That is shorts and flippy flop weather people!!”
It was 47˚ here in the northeast when I left for class yesterday and I didn’t wear my coat even though it wasn’t really quite warm enough for that. You’ve got to soak it up when you can!
These look delicious! Not to mention simple!
These stuffed shells look SO good! I have never made stuffed shells because like you said they seem too time consuming and involved. I definitely want to try making this! Yum!
Last night, my boyfriend and I cooked a romantic V-day dinner. It was great! :)
Saw this article on Trader Joe’s today and thought you would find it interesting!
http://shine.yahoo.com/event/financiallyfit/what-to-buy-and-what-to-skip-at-trader-joe-s-2450975/
My boyfriend surprised me by taking me out to an Indian restaurant. We’ve been talking about trying out new cuisine, and neither of us have ever had Indian food before. It was so good and so much fun to try!
Those shells look delish!
I’m so glad you posted this alternative to roasting Brussels sprouts! I’m definitely gonna try this, cause I get way too impatient when roasting!
I made my hubs a steak dinner last night, and we just stayed in.
Hope you guys had a good night!
me and my boyfriend spent valentine’s day at the houston rocket’s game last night. he knows how much a love going to games. my dinner was a “natural” italian sausage hot dog at the arena. i made us some hot chocolate with marshmallows when we got home. whole foods sell sticks with big hunks of chocolate squares at the end you can stir in hot (almond) milk. it’s so good. i wonder if trader joe’s sells something similar?
you dinner looked yummy!! going on the menu for next week for sure :)
I had my sun roof open too yesterday! You know it’s been a rough winter when the 40’s feel tropical :)
“Sorry, no love for the steamed BS!” LOL, I knew exactly what you meant but, that was funny. :-)
My hubby works a later shift than I do, so last night we enjoyed a very romantic Taco Bell dessert selection:
His: Cinnamon Twists &
Hers: Caramel apple empanada (these things are to die for!)
Always enjoy reading about your foodie adventures!
The weather yesterday was fantastic! It was a balmy 42* at one point up here in Mpls. I left my coat at home and only wore a fleece zip up. At one point my mom looked at me and asked why I wasn’t wearing a coat, and I said, “I live in MN, it’s like 40 degrees in February! I should be in my bikini!”
Enjoy the nicer weather! I know I’m loving it!
Mmm looks yummy! I celebrated the 40 degree weather the other day, too!
While the actual Valentine’s Day wasn’t too special for me, the weekend before it was uber-special: my dad had to travel to Italy for work and made a quick 2-day visit to come see me! Talk about the BEST Valentine’s Day present ever :)
My husband knocked my socks off with a 5 course extravaganza! Truely amazing dinner! Happy V-Day!
I made some with ricotta/mozzarella/parmesan and spinach and they were soooo good!!! and I freeze them without the sauce!
Wow I have not had stuffed shells in a looooongest time. This is inspiring. I’ll have to make some this long weekend!
Oh man, those look DELISH!! I make a killer stuffed shells recipe that would totally be right up your ally! Stuffed shells with turkey AND SPINACH! Oh my goodness… to die for. Let me know if you want the recipe! :D
I just made the stuff shells for my husband, and they were awesome! Thanks for the great recipe and easy step by step instructions!
Made the stuffed shells yesterday; my husband and i loved them! thank you for the recipe and i really enjoy reading your blog. :)
[…] 2/20 Stuffed Shells, Salad, Garlic Bread (Stuffed shells recipe is from Iowa Girl Eats. I used ground turkey instead of beef because I already had it. We shall see if it tastes good or […]
Any advice for making these ahead of time, like say in the morning to pop in the oven after work?
I would make them up until the point of putting sauce and cheese on top if you’re stuffing them in the morning!
I made them last night for dinner :) I substituted hot Italian sausage for the ground beef. It was amazing! my hubby loved it!
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