Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce (Great for the Freezer!)

  As a very busy mom of two who works full-time, I appreciate having an easy dinner ready to pop in the oven as much as anybody else does!  I refuse, however, to sacrifice great flavor, minimal processed ingredients, and that homemade touch for the sake of convenience.  So rather than purchase lots of boxed freezer meals, I just try to do my cooking a little in bulk and then freeze at least half of what I have prepared.

    One of my very favorite freezer meals is my recipe for stuffed shells with meat sauce.  While I love lasagna, it's hard for me to fit whole pans of it into my freezer.  With stuffed shells, I can simply freeze the quantity of shells I want in plastic bags and then store the sauce separately.  I just thaw the shells and the sauce overnight, assemble the dish in the evening, and then top it with cheese before baking.  With very little effort on a weeknight, I have a great dinner for my family!

   The recipe I use for stuffed shells is actually a lasagna recipe my family has been using for several years.  I love the story behind this one!  Like many other standards in our family, my mom and I had my grandmother's recipe for lasagna and we had never thought to look for a new one.  My sister, however, was sure she had found us a better version.  When she was still in high school, Eva spent the night with a friend whose mother was a great cook.  She made lasagna for the girls and Eva begged Mom to call and get the recipe.  Both Mom and Eva were certain this had to be an old family recipe given that her friend came from an Italian family.  When Mom called to get the recipe, she discovered that the friend's mother had found the recipe in a recent magazine she had been reading!  We have come to love this very authentic "Italian" recipe for lasagna and I have yet to find a better one.

   As I said, I usually prepare this recipe in bulk so that I can have enough for dinner and still store some away for a busy night. I am providing the recipe for one batch of these but know that I almost always double it given that I will always choose cleaning up one mess over multiple messes after I finish cooking.  You can see from this picture how many shells I was able to stuff from a double batch.

    I like to use a pastry bag or just a plastic storage bag with a corner cut off to fill the shells.  I find it makes the whole process much neater and easier than trying to use a spoon.

    After I assemble the shells, I lay them on a baking sheet that will fit in my freezer.  I line the freezer sheet with Reynolds Release Foil so that once the shells are frozen solid on the cookie sheet I can just easily remove them and pop them in a plastic bag.

  I like to freeze the sauce in quart size plastic bags so that I can just place them in a bowl of warm water if I need them quickly and thaw them to the point where I can empty them into a saucepan to warm up.  Sometimes, if I am in a hurry, I just cut the plastic bag off with scissors and throw the whole chunk of frozen sauce into the pan.  I like to heat it a little before I put it over the shells so that it spreads easier and will bake a little faster.

  If I am just making one batch for dinner, I will often double all of the sauce ingredients minus the meat, onions, and garlic just so that I will have a little left over to freeze for something else.

Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce (click for printable version)

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 28 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
1 12 oz. can tomato paste
1 T. sugar
1 1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. each: oregano, thyme, basil (or just use 1 1/2 t. Italian seasoning)
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. crushed red pepper
1 bay leaf

1 box large pasta shells (I like Barilla best)

15 oz. ricotta
16 oz. mozzarella, shredded
1 1/2 cups Parmesan (I love the Sargento blend with Grana Padano)
2 eggs, beaten
1 T. parsley (I prefer dried)


For the sauce, in a large pot brown ground beef, onion, and garlic until the meant has cooked through.  Drain. Return the meat to the pot and add tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, salt, and spices.  Bring to a boil, stirring well, and then reduce the heat to low.  Simmer for around 30 minutes without a lid.

Prepare the pasta shells according to the directions on the box.  Drain very, very well.

Mix together the ricotta, eggs, and parsley in a large bowl.  Add the mozzarella and Parmesan saving a little of each to sprinkle on the top of the shells after you cover them in sauce.  Mix thoroughly.

Fill each shell with about 1 1/2 T. of the cheese mixture.

Place the shells in a baking sheet, top with sauce, and sprinkle a little cheese over the top.  Cover loosely with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese begins to brown.