Meaty Stuffed Shells

Tools: 

• Mixing bowl 
• Deep frying pan or Dutch oven
• 9x13 rectangle baking dish

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 1 cup of sour cream (yes sour cream!) can use ricotta if you prefer
• 1 cup of shredded cheese (I use Italian blend)
• 1 egg
• Italian seasoning & s&p

Meat sauce:

• 1 pound of ground beef
• 3-4 beef or chicken Italian sausages with the casing removed
• 1 24oz jar of pasta sauce of your choice
• 1 14 oz can of diced tomato (I usually use the one without added salt)
• 1/2 of a medium yellow onion diced small
• 1/2 of a medium bell pepper diced small
• Italian seasoning
• Couple cloves of garlic minced 
• 16 jumbo shells (plus a few more in case any break)
• 1 cup+ shredded Italian blend cheese for the top
• A few slices of Mozzarella cheese ripped for the top 
• Seasonings of your choice (add what you like but be mindful of salty seasoning)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400° & boil water for pasta
2. In a bowl whisk egg then add: sour cream, cheese, & seasonings. Mix until combined and set aside.
3. In a deep pan with olive oil sauté onion, bell pepper & garlic until they start to become translucent. Then, add ground beef, sausage & seasonings of your choice. Break meat down into small pieces and cook until no pink is visible. 
4. Next, add pasta sauce & tomatoes & stir. Cover pan and let sauce simmer stirring occasionally.
5. Add pasta to boiling water and cook until they begin to soften but not completely cooked. Drain and set aside to cool.
6. Once shells are cooled, pour some red sauce to coat the bottom of the baking dish. Then begin filling your shells with sour cream mixture and placing them into the baking dish. Once all shells are added, top with remaining sauce.
7. Next add a cup or more of shredded cheese & mozzarella to cover the top of the pasta & cover tightly with foil (make sure no cheese it touching the foil). Bake for 30 min.
8. Remove foil once cooked and broil the top until everything is golden & bubbly. Let set for 10 min before serving.
9. Enjoy!