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3 Cheese Stuffed Shells and Meatballs

Make dinner tonight and 2 future meals all at once! Serve with crusty bread and a salad for a easy delicious meal. Serves 3-4 people per baking dish.

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword cheese stuffed shells, Stuffed shells
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 10 -12 people total

Ingredients

Stuffed Shells

  • 1 12 oz pkg dried large/jumbo shells (12 oz Great Value) or your preferred shell
  • 1 32oz` ricotta cheese
  • 2 oz cream cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 tsp each garlic and onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg fresh grated preferred
  • 2 tbsp dried parsley or Italian herb mix
  • 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Meatballs

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp onion powder
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan Reggiano
  • ½ cup bread crumbs
  • ¼ cup milk
  • 1 tsp Italian herb mix

Instructions

Stuffed shells

  1. Par boil the shells until softened but not all the way to al dente.  Once boiled, drain, and spread onto a cookie sheet to cool.

  2. Prepare 3 pie pans with 1/3 – 1/2 cup of sauce spread into the bottom of each.

  3. Put the ricotta into a large bowl.  Cut or pull apart the cream cheese into small bits. Add the eggs and all seasonings. Stir to combine.  Place into a gallon plastic bag with a corner cut off.

  4. Squeeze the air out of the bag, and push until the cheese mix starts to exude out the corner. Fill each shell and place into the prepared pans.

  5. Cover with the rest of the sauce.

  6. Sprinkle with mozzarella.

  7.   Cover with foil and bake 350F for 45 minutes. Remove foil during the last 5-10 minutes. Add more cheese if desired.

  8. To freeze, stop here and wrap well with foil.  To bake, remove and thaw overnight, or put into the oven directly, but bake for 1.5 hours until hot and bubbly.

Meatballs

  1. Mix all ingredients together and form into meatballs. The meat should be soft, so add more milk if the balls don't roll into balls, or more bread crumbs if too wet. Make them no larger than 2” in diameter. 1 pound of meat makes 6 large meatballs.

  2. Place onto a baking sheet. Bake 350F for 20 minutes. Place into sauce in a large saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with the shells.
  3. Alternatively, place meatballs in a small baking dish, and cover with sauce, then return to the oven for 10 minutes.
  4. Meatballs can be made in advance and frozen.