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Million greenback stuffed shells take all of the creamy, tacky goodness of the basic and wrap it into enjoyable jumbo shells. It’s cozy, everybody loves it, and it’s straightforward to make!


Why These Shells Steal the Present
- Completely Portioned: The jumbo shells act like little edible bowls, providing you with a balanced mixture of sauce, cheese, and pasta in every chunk.
- Nice for Prepping Forward: You possibly can assemble the dish upfront, pop it within the fridge, and bake if you’re prepared. It’s freezer-friendly, too!
- Make it Your Personal: This recipe is straightforward to change up with totally different proteins, herbs, or cheeses to match your temper or what you may have readily available.
Elements for Million Greenback Stuffed Shells


- The Meats: Combine and match your meats, sausage, beef, turkey, or hen. Simply make sure that it provides as much as a pound.
- Marinara: Selfmade is all the time scrumptious, however a good-quality jarred sauce retains this dinner fast, straightforward, and stress-free.
- Pink Pepper Flakes: Add a pinch (or two or three!) to the sauce for a kick of warmth that enhances the wealthy cheese filling.


- Cottage Cheese or Ricotta: You possibly can simply swap 1:1 cottage cheese for ricotta should you desire a smoother texture.
- Further Cheese Topping: Be happy to pile on extra mozzarella for an additional tacky end.
- Mozzarella: Shred your individual low-moisture mozzarella. It melts higher, tastes higher, and prices lower than pre-shredded.
The way to Make Million Greenback Stuffed Shells
This stuffed shell recipe is a household favourite and goes properly with a easy aspect salad, garlic bread, and even roasted greens for a hearty meal any evening of the week. Prep forward, bake when prepared, and luxuriate in a dinner everybody will love.
- Prep the Pasta: Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray, then set it apart. Carry a big pot of salted water to a boil, then prepare dinner the jumbo shells in line with bundle instructions for al dente. Drain the shells and rinse them with chilly water to cease the cooking course of. Toss flippantly with 1-2 teaspoons olive or vegetable oil to forestall sticking.
- Prepare dinner the Meat: Add the bottom beef and Italian sausage to a massive skillet and prepare dinner over medium warmth for 7-10 minutes till totally browned and no pink stays, breaking apart the meat into crumbles because it cooks. Drain off any extra grease.
- Sauté Onion and Garlic: Add the olive oil and onion to the skillet, and prepare dinner for about 2 minutes earlier than including the garlic. Prepare dinner for a further minute, then stir in the marinara sauce and Italian seasoning. Season with salt and pepper to style and take away from the warmth.
- Make the Million Greenback Stuffed Shells Filling: Add the cream cheese, cottage cheese, bitter cream, 1 ⅓ cups mozzarella, and parmesan to a big bowl and blend till mixed by hand or with an electrical mixer.








Million Greenback Stuffed Shells Meeting
- Add Marinara to Dish: Unfold about two-thirds of the marinara combination evenly within the backside of the baking dish.
- Spoon Filling into Shells: Stuff the cooked shells with the million greenback filling in every shell, then organize them in an excellent layer excessive of the sauce.
- Bake: Spoon the remaining third of the sauce over the shells, then high with the remaining mozzarella. Bake uncovered for 25-Half-hour, till the cheese is melted and effervescent. Let the dish relaxation for about 5 minutes earlier than garnishing with chopped parsley or basil, if desired, and serving.






Alyssa’s Professional Suggestions
Excellent Pasta: Undercook the shells a couple of minutes so that they keep good and agency. They’ll end within the oven anyway. Give them a chilly rinse and a fast olive-oil toss to cease them from cooking and preserve them from sticking collectively.
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Million Greenback Cheese Filling
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Preheat the oven to 375 levels Fahrenheit. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and put aside.
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Carry a big pot of salted water to a rolling boil, then prepare dinner 1 (12-ounce) field jumbo shell pasta in line with the instructions on the bundle for al dente pasta. If most popular, undercook by a couple of minutes to keep away from overcooking within the oven.
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Drain the shells and rinse them with chilly water to cease the cooking course of. Toss flippantly with 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil or vegetable oil to forestall them from sticking.
Sauce
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Add ½ pound lean floor beef and ½ pound gentle Italian sausage to a big skillet and prepare dinner over medium warmth for 7-10 minutes till totally browned and no pink stays, breaking apart the meat into crumbles because it cooks. Drain off any extra grease.
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Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and ⅓ cup diced onion to the skillet, and prepare dinner for about 2 minutes earlier than including 2 teaspoons minced garlic. Prepare dinner for a further minute, then stir in 3 cups marinara sauce and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Season with salt and floor black pepper to style and take away from the warmth.
Million Greenback Cheese Filling
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Add 8 ounces softened cream cheese, 1 cup small-curd cottage cheese, ½ cup bitter cream, 1 ⅓ cups of the 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, and ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese to a big bowl and blend till mixed by hand or with an electrical mixer.
Meeting
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Unfold about ¾ of the sauce evenly within the backside of the baking dish.
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Stuff the shells with about 2 tablespoons of the million greenback filling in every shell, then organize them in an excellent layer excessive of the sauce.
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Spoon the remaining third of the sauce over the tops of the shells, and high with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
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Bake uncovered for 25-Half-hour, till the cheese is melted and effervescent. Let the dish relaxation for about 5 minutes earlier than garnishing with chopped recent parsley or basil if desired and serving.
Put together forward: You might put together and assemble these shells as much as 2 days earlier than cooking, though I like to recommend getting ready the sauce and cheese combination forward of time and ready till the day you propose to bake and serve it to prepare dinner the shells and assemble them. It will stop the pasta from absorbing further moisture because it sits within the fridge within the days previous to baking.
To freeze, observe by way of step 9 (with out preheating the oven), cowl tightly with 2-3 layers of plastic wrap round the entire freezer-safe baking pan adopted by a layer of industrial quality aluminum foil. Freeze for as much as 3 months. Thaw in a single day within the fridge earlier than baking. You might want so as to add 10-Quarter-hour of baking time to account for it being chilly. Bake till the middle of the dish reaches 165 levels Fahrenheit. If wanted, tent the highest with aluminum foil to keep away from the cheese burning on high.
Energy: 452kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 25gFats: 34gSaturated Fats: 16gPolyunsaturated Fats: 2gMonounsaturated Fats: 12gTrans Fats: 0.1gLdl cholesterol: 107mgSodium: 1114mgPotassium: 575mgFiber: 2gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 1147IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 307mgIron: 2mg
Diet info is robotically calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.


Extra Italian Dinner Favorites
For those who love this dish, you’ll need to strive extra of my high Italian meals. These recipes are stuffed with style, straightforward to make, and positive to please the entire crew.

