Stuffed Shells...My Mom Can Cook!

Linking up with Mama Kat for her Pretty Much World Famous Writing Workshop...you should too!

Assignment: Last week we talking about mom's WORST homemade meals. This week describe a meal your Mom cooked that you LOVED eating growing up.

My mom can cook.  Yes. She. Can.  I refuse to eat Pate Chinois but not because she can't cook it but because she made me smell my feet at the dinner table.  Confused?  You must have missed last weeks post.  LMAO!

Not MY MOM'S but you get the picture!

This week, I really struggled with picking only one meal that my mom use to cook that I LOVED to eat.  After much contemplation and analyzing all the "pros n' cons"...I decided on stuffed shells.  YUM!  YUM!

I picked this particular meal for two specific reasons.  The first being that it is so flippin' delicious that my mouth is currently watering just thinking about them.  The second reason is because some of my fondest memories as a child are in the kitchen with my mom...cooking.  This particular meal required a lot of my help, which made me feel really  "important" because there was a lot of shredded cheese required for this super-yum-ilicious meal.  Are you confused again?  LOL!  Allow me to explain...

Long before the convenience of being able to purchase shredded cheese in a bag, my main responsibility was to grate (shred) a pound of mozzarella and a pound of cheddar cheese...by hand.  At the time I thought, "WoW!  My mom must REALLY TRUST me to allow me to have such an important job (shredded cheese is over 50% of the recipe)!"  However, now I know that it was the worst job of the recipe but back then I felt like a real sous chef.  LOL!

Chances are, if you are coming to my house for a dinner party I'll be serving you Chicken Parmesan, Authentic Cesar Salad and Stuffed Shells.  For dessert, Divito's Coffee Cake.  Chances are, you will ask for the recipe so here it is...enjoy!

Mom's Stuffed Shells

1 box of jumbo shells (cooked as per instructions and cooled)

1/2 bag of shredded mozza

1/2 bag of shredded cheddar

(or if you want the FULL EXPERIENCE, shred it yourself.  Ya, I didn't think so!  LOL)

1 250g container of cottage cheese

1 egg

Crushed Garlic

Salt n' Pepper

Italian Bread Crumbs (to form)

1 large jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (or better yet, homemade)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix Cheeses, egg, garlic, salt n' pepper and enough bread crumbs so the mixture is not too mushie.  Stuff each cooked shell with a tablespoon (or so) of cheese mixture.  Grease a 9x13 baking dish and pour 1/2 of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom and place stuffed shells on top.  Pour the remaining spaghetti sauce over top.  Cover with foil and bake for 45 mins to 1 hour.  YUMMMY!

Need Some Inspiration?  Go Check Out Mama Kat's Workshop...