Spinach and cheese stuffed shells

It was my mom's birthday a few weeks back, and as a celebration I decided to cook lunch for everyone. This is kind of a big deal in my family, since I'm probably the one with the least cooking skills in the house. Add to that the fact that I chose two recipes I'd never tried to make before and the fact that the Seahawks were playing at noon, and it turned into a race against time. I showed up at my parents' with all the ingredients I'd need at 9 AM. For lunch I made spinach and cheese stuffed shells with marinara sauce. For dessert, a red velvet and white chocolate cheesecake (which I'll post a recipe for separately). Not only was it delicious, but fairly simple to put together, and looked really nice!

Ingredients:

• 5 oz. fresh spinach
• 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
• 16 oz. ricotta cheese
• 3 oz. cream cheese
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 24 oz. jar marinara sauce
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, for sprinkling
• 30 jumbo pasta shells

Directions:

1. Cook pasta shells according to instructions on box. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 375
3. Place the spinach in a pan covered in water, cover, and boil on medium-high heat for 5 minutes.
4. Throw away the water and add garlic to the spinach. Stir to coat the garlic and cook on medium-high heat for 2 minutes.
5. In a large bowl, combine the cooked spinach, ricotta cheese, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, and egg. Mix well.
6. In a large baking dish, coat the bottom with a bit of marinara sauce.
7. Using a tablespoon, fill each shell with the mixture and set them in the baking dish with the seam up.
8. Once you have placed all the shells that will fit in the baking dish, pour the remaining marinara sauce over the shells evenly and use the mozzarella cheese for topping
9. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and place in the oven for 20 minutes.
10. Remove the aluminum foil and leave in the oven for another 10 minutes.
11. Let it sit for a couple minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Note: I  got the original recipe from Culinary Couture Blog, a blog I've been obsessed with lately. However, I adjusted the recipe to my liking since I tend to avoid most green foods.