baked shells

we had them for dinner last night.
it was the first night in awhile we've all been home for a nice sit down dinner.
chris has been swamped at work and basketball schedules have taken over most nights.

ella helped me stuff the shells.
we worked side by side. i loved having her next to me.
she is pretty darn good in the kitchen.

it is an easy recipe and it was fun to make.
-first you cook the shells according to the box (get the jumbo shells)
-then drain them and let them cool.

next is the fun part, stuffing the shells:
-combine the following ingredients:
1 egg
1 24 oz. container of cottage cheese
1 cup grated cheese (i used mozarella)
1/8 cup grated parmesan cheese
-scoop mixture into shells.

-pour 1 jar of spaghetti sauce over stuffed shells
  (i made my own sauce.  i'll post that recipe tomorrow)
-sprinkle with additional 1 cup grated cheese and 1/8 cup parmesan cheese.
-bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

add a salad and some bread and there's dinner.
it was a nice change.  something different.  something i'd never made before.
i liked that the shells were stuffed with cottage cheese and not ricotta.
i'm not a huge ricotta cheese fan.

and it sure is fun using our christmas plates.
i have a whole assortment of them (thanks aunt julie!)
everyone gets to pick one to eat on each night.
they are all different and different sizes too.
it's a simple, but fun way to add some festivity to this special time of year.