1and a half boxes of giant pasta shells(made with durum wheat)
Instructions
Sauté onion over medium heat until translucent (about 3-5 minutes)
Add garlic; sauté for 30 seconds
Add meat to brown (5-8 minutes), stirring often to break down
Add basil and pesto, stir to combine
Add cheese, stir to melt into mixture; season with salt and freshly ground pepper
While mixture cools, boil shells until al dente
Drain and drizzle with olive oil to keep separate; set aside
Let mixture cool until manageable; stuff pasta shells generously
Freeze individually on cookie sheets; wrap well, label with date and freeze until needed
OR
Preheat oven to 350ºF
Place stuffed shells in baking dish; cover bottom with heavy cream (just a skim to cover bottom of casserole dish)
Slice cheese of choice and cover shells; tent foil over dish and bake 20-30 minutes until hot and bubbly
Serve with a tossed green salad
Amount:
Each box of shells has about 30 good shells in it once they are cooked and it takes about 20 minutes to cook them; discard the broken bits
Each recipe will make about 45 shells, so I usually double the recipe and use 3 boxes of shells
Recipe Notes
Six shells is ample for an individual serving. If making in a large casserole, count 5 per person. When serving as a "one bite wonder" at a huge potluck party, or as an appetizer at the beginning of a meal, I add thin slivers of fresh garlic into the center of the meat stuffed into each large shell to increase the garlic pucker power punch; it is extraordinary for a small portion.