Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Shells

bricookie55's Note:

Taken from Everyday Pasta by Giada De Laurentiis. Hope you like it!

• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 6-8

Yield: 24.0 shells

• 24 large pasta shells (12-ounce)
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 lb ground turkey (preferably dark meat)
• salt & fresh ground pepper
• 1 (8 ounce) package frozen artichokes, thawed and coarsely chopped
• 1 (15 ounce) carton whole milk ricotta cheese
• 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 5 cups marinara sauce
• 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil for the shells. Cook according to package directions; drain.
3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is tender and beginning to brown, about 3 minutes.
4. Add turkey, salt, and pepper, and cook until meat is light golden and heated through, stirring occasionally.
5. Add artichoke hearts and stir to combine. Remove from heat; allow to cool.
6. In a large bowl, combine the cooled turkey mixture with ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, basil, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir.
7. Cover the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish with 1 cup of marinara sauce. Holding a shell in the palm of your hand, stuff with large spoonfuls of turkey mixture, about 2 tablespoons per shell. Place each shell in the baking dish. Keep working until dish is full; you should have about 24 shells.
8. Drizzle remaining marinara sauce over shells and top with grated mozzarella.
9. Bake shells until warmed through and until cheese begins to brown, about 25 minutes.

Reviews

[elrod87]

We had guests over and I saw this recipe and said hmmm.... I'll give it a shot. Great idea! Everyone loved it. I had extras and it was a hit with the neighbors. Everything turned out great. Only thing I did different was I got mozzarella crazy. Hehe, I love cheese. I will definitely make this again!

[Erica Lebbie]

Tried this last night and it was easy and delicious.

[Kiki Freebird]

FANTASTIC!!! This was sooooo good. I made this ahead of time and placed it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours until I was ready to bake it. I used part skim ricotta and subbed 1/2 cup egg whites for eggs since that's what I had on hand. It worked perfectly and my boyfriend raved about it for several days :-)