Amazing Meal: Stuffed Shells

Ugh, these beauties are by far my favorite meal right now.  While they take a little prep work to make, the end result is completely worth the work.

Stuffed Shells

Ingredient List
Note: These are the brands/items I use, and obviously they aren't all global.  Substitute as needed.

1 - 12 oz. Box Creamette Jumbo Shells

1 or 2 cans of your favorite spaghetti sauce

1 - Container of McCormick Perfect Pinch Italian Seasoning

1 - Chub Bob Evan's Italian Sausage

2 - 8 oz. Bags Mozzarella Cheese

1 - 24 oz Container Cottage Cheese

Preparation

Needed equipment will be highlighted throughout the instructions.

1. Set a large pot about 3/4 full of water to boil, add a few shakes of salt.

2. Put a teaspoon or so of water in a frying pan, and begin frying up the sausage.

3. Add the noodles into the water when it's at a rolling boil.

4. When the sausage is fully cooked, take off the burner and let it cool for a moment.  Get a plate out, put about three paper towels on top of it, and empty the sausage onto it to absorb the minimal grease from the meat.

5. Get a large bowl out and add the bags of cheese, about 5/6 of the container cottage cheese, and roughly 3 tablespoons of the italian seasoning.  Key word, roughly, add more or less depending on personal preferences.

6. Once the meat is cool enough that it won't melt the cheese, add it to the mixture in the bowl and mix with your hands.  Wash your hands before doing that, cause that's just gross if you don't.

7. Get a 13x9 pan out, or two smaller pans, and coat the bottoms in the spaghetti sauce.  Don't skimp here, be generous, it's like the cooking spray in baking, stops the food from baking to the pan.

8.  When the noodles are soft but not falling apart, take them off the heat and drain them, then fill the pot up with cool water.  Drain the noodles, then put them back into the cool water.

9. Organize your stuffing station so the cheese mixture bowl, noodle pot, and baking pan are all within arms reach.

10. Take a shell, open it up wide, and use a spoon to spoon the cheese mixture into the shells.  Pack them well, but try to not have the mixture mounded over the lip of the shell.  Rinse and repeat until your pans are full of shells or you run out of shells.

To be honest, the outcome here seems to change on me every time, so there's no garauntee you will end up with the perfect amount of shells for your pans.  If it comes down to it though, everything in the cheese mixture is cooked and safe to eat, so putting some extra mixture into a broken or extra shell to nibble on never hurts.

11. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

12. Once it's heated, place the pans on a middle rack in the oven, and cook for roughly 20 minutes.  Pretty much, they're done once the cheese looks melted.  Beware that if you cook them too long, the shell edges can sometimes get chewy and hard, aka, overcooked.

13. Once they look finished, pull them out to cool.  Let them sit for about 10 to 15 minutes, then serve!  Put all leftovers in plastic containers, and enjoy them for the days to come.