Cheesey Stuffed Shells

Stuff shells what a treat! This is one of my favorite recipes. I love Italian food and I could eat pasta all the time. Actually this pasta has a low Glycemic Index, which means it doesn't raise your blood sugar and low GI foods are digested more slowly.They stay in the digested system longer and help to naturally satisfy hunger. So, eating a delicious meal that includes pasta can be one of your healthful alternatives. If you wanted to half this recipe for the meat sauce and filling, it would be easy to do.

Ingredients for meat sauce:

1 lb ground sirloin (97% fat free)

1 lb Italian turkey sausage, removed from casing

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Medium onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 (28 oz) can San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes

1 (28 oz) can tomato sauce

1/2 cup dry red wine

10 fresh Basil leaves, julienned (cut into thin strips)

Directions:

In a large sauce pan, pour the olive oil and saute' onions for 5 minutes and add the garlic, cook 1 minute and add the ground sirloin and sausage. Break up the meat with a large spoon to make crumbled meat. Add the whole tomatoes and juice and crush the tomatoes with a potato masher and then add the tomato sauce and red wine. Mix thoroughly. Add the Basil leaves and simmer for 1 hour.

Ingredients for the filling:

1 (12 oz) box Mueller's jumbo shells

2 eggs

2 containers (15 oz) each low-fat Ricotta cheese

2 clove garlic, minced

2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 small can chopped black olives

1/4 cup fresh Basil leaves, julienned

Directions:

In a large pot, boil water and add salt to taste. Add pasta and boil for 13 minutes. Drain and lay each shell on a piece of wax paper. Preheat oven 400 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs, stir in Ricotta, garlic, 1 cup Mozzarella, Parmesan, black olives and basil.

Spoon about 1 tablespoon of cheese mixture into each shell. In a 13x9-inch baking dish, spoon some meat sauce on the bottom of dish and arrange the filled shells. Top with more meat sauce and sprinkle with 1 cup Mozzarella cheese. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake for 45 minutes until the sauce is bubbly. If there is any meat sauce left over, put in a container and freeze for another meal. Enjoy!