- Whoa! (laughs)
- Oh!
- Go ahead.
- No, you go ahead.
- Okay.
Rock, paper, scissors, shoot.
Dang it.
Rock, paper, scissors, shoot.
Whoo!
All right, we're gonna make stuffed shells
and this is a winner of a recipe.
(upbeat music)
(image whooshes)
Hey everybody, it's Natasha from natashaskitchen.com!
Today, I'm gonna teach you how
to make cheesy stuffed shells.
Every time I make this, my kids get excited.
This is a family favorite.
It is so easy and I'm hungry.
So let's get started.
(hands tap) (bell dings)
You'll need 20 uncooked jumbo, pasta shells
and we're gonna cook those according
to the package instructions in some salted water.
Once you've added the shells to the pot,
give them a quick stir to make sure they're all submerged.
Then stir it a few times
while cooking to make sure they don't stick
to the bottom of the pot.
Make sure you don't over cook the shells.
You want to take them out when they're al dente.
Al dente just means firm to the bite
and typically the package instructions
on pasta will be for al dente pasta.
(upbeat music)
Once those are done, you want to drain off the hot water
then fill up the pot with cold water.
This will stop the cooking process
and keep the pasta shells from sticking together.
Usually while the pastas on the stove,
I'll prep our tomato sauce. (fist thumps)
Start by finely chopping a medium onion.
Now finely mince three garlic cloves.
I find the easiest way to peel a garlic clove
is to first cut off the tough root end,
then smash the garlic with the side of a knife.
The peels should slide right off.
(upbeat music)
Now just finely mince them up
and we're gonna take that minced garlic
and chopped onion to the stove.
Place a deep saute pan, or a Dutch oven,
over medium-high heat and add one tablespoon of olive oil.
Add the onions and saute those
for about three to five minutes,
stirring occasionally until they're softened and golden.
(upbeat music)
Next, add your minced garlic
and season that with half a teaspoon of salt,
a quarter teaspoon of pepper,
and a quarter teaspoon of oregano.
And I'm just using dried oregano here.
And I love that this recipe calls for simple pantry
and refrigerator staples, which makes dinner easy.
Add three cups of marinara sauce.
We do have a really good homemade marinara
and I will leave a link to that in the recipe notes.
Bring that to a uniform boil, then continue stirring
and simmering for another two minutes.
(upbeat music)
Now pour all of that marinara sauce
into the bottom of a 13x9 casserole dish.
You also want to make sure to preheat your oven
to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Set that aside for now
and we're gonna quickly put together the cheese filling
for the stuffed pasta shells.
In a large mixing bowl, add 15 ounces of ricotta cheese.
Now you'll need a total of three cups
of shredded mozzarella cheese.
Add two cups to the mixing bowl and set the rest aside.
Also add one-third cup of shredded Parmesan cheese,
one large egg, half a teaspoon of salt,
a quarter teaspoon of pepper,
and we're going to finely chop up
and add one-fourth cup of fresh parsley.
(upbeat music)
The parsley adds freshness and flavor to the filling
and I do like to chop a little extra to use
as garnish for the finished casserole.
(upbeat music)
Use a spatula to stir all
of your filling ingredients together
until they are well combined.
(upbeat music)
All right, that looks perfect.
And it's time to stuff those shells.
To make this process easy,
I'm using a trigger release ice cream scoop.
Fill a regular scoop about halfway
and then stuff it into the drained pasta shells.
Make sure you don't overstuff the shells
or you'll run out of filling.
It should be just enough to fill them up.
Arrange the stuffed shells snugly over the marinara sauce.
(upbeat music)
Finally sprinkle the top with that reserved cup
of shredded mozzarella cheese.
Cover the casserole tightly with a sheet of aluminum foil
then bake in the center of a preheated oven
at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes.
When you take off the foil,
the sauce should be bubbling at the edges.
Once you remove the foil,
broil on high heat for another two to four minutes
to lightly brown the cheese.
(upbeat music)
When it's finished,
you'll have a cheesy, saucy, bubbly casserole.
(upbeat music)
(Natasha laughs)
Oh my goodness.
This looks and smells so good.
And I cannot wait to dive into this.
All right, and I do love to garnish
with a little bit of fresh parsley
because it adds that pretty pop of color.
And we do have parsley in the recipe so it makes sense.
All right, that looks fantastic.
You do want to let it rest a little bit
because it's gonna be blazing hot otherwise.
So don't do what I do, do as I say.
(Natasha laughs)
All right, just kidding.
You should wait.
Don't burn your mouth.
Okay, here we go.
The taste test.
All right, and I love how saucy and cheesy these are.
Oh my goodness, look at that.
Look at that cheese pull, irresistible.
Oh my.
(Natasha laughs)
It's still going.
There you go.
Mm.
Yummy yum.
No words just, mmm.
(Natasha laughs)
Oh my goodness.
Okay, one more, one more.
It's about three per serving.
All right, here we go.
I'm cutting into one of these.
(upbeat music)
Yum.
And these are still blazing hot.
So this is going to be tricky.
(upbeat music)
Mmm.
That filling is super cheesy and creamy.
Just delicious.
Oh, oh!
(Natasha chuckles)
Mmm.
It's hard to believe this is a meatless dinner
because it is so, so satisfying.
And you've got all the best flavors of lasagna
except this is so simple.
I mean, you don't really have to layer anything.
The sauce is ridiculously easy and, by the way,
make sure you check out our homemade marinara sauce,
which works so well in this dish.
Make this once and then you'll make it over and over.
It's sure to become a new favorite casserole.
It's so easy,
it reheats really well,
and it's just seriously delicious.
And we have a taste tester
that has been eagerly waiting for lunch.
So come on in.
He's coming at me with a fork.
(Natasha laughs)
- I am so hungry.
- All right, dig in.
It is hot though, so be careful.
Oh my, you're going for the whole thing.
He's going for the whole thing.
(Natasha laughs)
You must be hungry.
Ooh, cheesy.
- Mmm.
- What do you think?
- It is marvelous.
- Marvelous.
(Natasha laughs)
Straight from the taste tester.
You heard it, folks.
Marvelous.
And it's all the cheese dreams coming true, huh?
- Amen.
- Amen. (Natasha laughs)
All right, we are a family of cheese lovers
and we are going to enjoy lunch very much.
Thank you so much for watching
and we'll see you in our next video.
(Natasha chuckles)
Okay, let's have lunch.
Go grab another plate.
Yummy, yummy, yummy.
Can't wait.
Dad, you want some?
Come on. - [Dad] Yes.
- Come on over. - I'll have like 15.