Northern Italian Pasta Shells

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 3 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach
• 3 lbs ground round
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 2 large onions, chopped
• grated parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1 (1 lb) package jumbo pasta shells
• 2 cups tomato sauce (your own or ready-made)

Recipe

• 1 place frozen spinach in a strainer and run under hot water until thawed.
• 2 squeeze all of the water out and place in a large bowl.
• 3 in a large saute pan, cook the ground round until browned.
• 4 drain meat, reserving 2 tablespoons fat in the pan, and place meat in the same bowl with the spinach.
• 5 stir in the cream cheese until blended with the meat and spinach (i used my hands).
• 6 saute the chopped onions in the reserved meat fat until transparent.
• 7 transfer onions to the bowl with the other ingredients and stir to combine.
• 8 add grated cheese, salt, and pepper, to taste, and combine.
• 9 let mixture cool and then add the eggs.
• 10 the filling can be made up to 1 day in advance and refrigerated until ready to use.
• 11 when you're ready to make the shells, preheat the oven to 350 degrees f.
• 12 cook pasta shells in boiling, salted water until al dente.
• 13 drain and cool to the touch.
• 14 stuff the shells with the meat mixture.
• 15 place shells in a large baking pan and cover with tomato sauce.
• 16 cover with foil and bake for approximately 1 hour.