Cheesy Spinach Stuffed Pasta Shells

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:
for the sauce:
28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon sugar

for the pasta shells:
24 large pasta shells (about 3/4 of a 12 ounce box)
(*If you want to use the entire box of shells (there are usually about 32 shells total in a 12 ounce box), prepare an 8X8-inch pan in addition to the 9X13-inch pan and consider increasing the filling and sauce by half.)

for the filling:
16 ounces (2 cups) cottage cheese
15 ounces (about 2 cups) part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
10 ounces frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry of excess liquid
(*Make sure to squeeze as much liquid out of that spinach as possible so the shells don't have excess liquid (letting the sit for a few minutes after baking will help that, too).)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups)
(* If you'd like to reserve some of the cheese (or shred extra) for sprinkling on top of the shells and sauce before baking, feel free!)

Directions:
For the sauce, combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Continue simmering for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat.

While the sauce simmers, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta shells al dente according to package directions. Drain and immediately place them in an even layer on paper towels or parchment.

For the filling, in a medium bowl, stir together the cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, salt, pepper, parsley, oregano and basil. Add the spinach and mix until combined. Stir in the cheeses.

Lightly grease a 9X13-inch pan with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spoon about half of the sauce on the bottom of the prepared pan and spread evenly. Fill each pasta shell with an even amount of the filling (about 1/4 cup per shell, more or less) and place the shells on top of the sauce in the pan - making three rows of eight shells.

Pour the remaining sauce evenly over the top of the shells. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 35-40 minutes. Uncover and bake five or so more minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let the shells sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

(*This makes a great freezer meal. Before baking the shells, after they have been fully assembled and covered in sauce, cover the dish with a double layer of aluminum foil and freeze. I usually bake from frozen, adding an hour onto the baking time and uncovering for 15-30 minutes instead of just a couple of minutes (so it would be about an hour and a half covered and then 15-30 minutes uncovered).)

Notes:
So this was pretty much amazing!  But really, how could it not be?  Pasta filled with ooey-gooey cheese topped with a lovely marinara?  Pretty much heaven, if you ask me.  It's kind of similar to a manicotti recipe that I grew up with, but instead of having to stuff the cheese mixture into a tube-shaped shell (or a trick we learned was to cut the cooked tube open, place the filling at one edge and roll up the noodle around the cheese), you just scoop it directly into an open shell.  Super easy.  Don't be afraid of the long list of ingredients.  This really came together quite quickly (not super fast, but not as scary and long as it seems) on a recent Saturday evening.  I didn't bake it at the end but instead kept it in the fridge for Sunday dinner.  I think it took about an hour to cook cold from the fridge, but it was worth it to not have to do any prep.  Just pop, bake and devour.  Delish!