Four Cheese, Spinach and Beef Stuffed Shells

I was planning on using some leftovers for shepherd's pie tonight for dinner but I was really in the mood for stuffed shells. The problem is, I decided on a whim to make it and I had no ricotta and no cottage cheese. So, I thought cream cheese would be a nice change of pace. These turned out so creamy! I will definitely be making these again. I baked half of the stuffed shells for dinner and froze the other half for another time. YUM!

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg jumbo shells
• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 c onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 1 (24 oz) jar pasta sauce, divided
• 1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 c Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 c Romano cheese
• 1 large egg
• 8 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1/2 c shredded mozzarella cheese
• Salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the jumbo shells in salted boiling water according to package directions, until al dente.  Drain and set aside.

Lightly grease a 12 x 9-inch baking dish.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef, onion, garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until beef is cooked through, drain.

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of the pasta sauce, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, egg and spinach.  Stir in the beef mixture..

Pour and spread about 1/4 cup of the pasta sauce on the bottom of the prepared baking dish into a very thin layer. Stuff each shell and place them in the baking dish.

Cover the stuffed shells evenly with the remaining pasta sauce and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over all.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Garnish with fresh chopped basil.

Enjoy!