Butternut Squash and Spinach Stuffed Shells

You may have seen this recipe on Pinterest.  And if you did, you pinned it, because it looks and sounds amazing.  By now we've all had our fair share of "Pinterest Fails;" it's beginning to be a running joke.  So as beautiful as this recipe looked, I was wary!  Not too wary though, as I made three pans of it in one sitting - two pans to bring to friends with new babies!  I prepped all 36 shells Monday night, and cooked ours last night.  The other pans are in the fridge, ready for our friends to eat or freeze.

Source: prouditaliancook.blogspot.com via Caitlin on Pinterest

So the verdict?  These were GOOD.  Really tasty!  Laura, of course, was wary of the squash and spinach... so I just hid those bites in the "noodles" I stuck on her fork.  They were a little more prep time than your normal shells (I've always used the recipe on the box to great success), but full of flavor.  The roasted squash alone was delicious, and was in danger of being eaten by me before I could get it in the shells. 

In typical fashion, I did stray from the given recipe a bit.  The biggest change I made was adding sauce.  I wasn't sure how well the sage butter would freeze AND I forgot to buy sage AND I really couldn't picture shells without some sauce for the ricotta to soak up.  So I grabbed a jar of Classico's light alfredo (really good, by the way), and added some to the bottom of the pan, and then poured the rest over the prepped shells.

The original recipe is for one tray of 12 shells.  I made triple that number, but didn't really measure anything.  So here's original recipe with my notes in parenstheses on the side:

Ingredients:
Butternut squash (recipe didn't say how much - I used one package pre-chopped squash)
Olive oil
Jumbo shells, cooked and cooled
2 cups ricotta cheese (I used a 32 ounce tub)
1/3 cup parmesan cheese (handfuls!)
1 clove minced garlic (oops - I forgot this, and would remember it next time)
1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, squeezed and drained (I used a whole box)
1 egg
lemon zest (about 2 teaspoons)
salt and pepper to taste
(And of course: 1 jar alfredo sauce)
(Optional: pancetta or prosciutto, chopped)

Instructions:
Set out spinach to thaw (which I forgot to do till the last minute)

Peel and chop your butternut squash
Toss in olive oil with a little salt
Roast at 425F for 15-20 minutes.

Cook your jumbo pasta shells according to directions.

In a bowl mix ricotta, parmesan cheese, garlic clove, thawed and chopped spinach, 1 egg, salt, pepper, roasted squash (cooled), and grated lemon peel (and pancetta!). The lemon peel was key to this dish and added a nice bright flavor.

Stuff the shells with the mixture and place in a buttered baking dish (with a little sauce on the bottom).

Make a sage brown butter sauce by melting 1 stick of butter in a saute pan until golden brown and bubbly.  Add at least 10 sage leaves until slightly crisp. Turn off heat and squeeze in fresh lemon juice.

Pour additional alfredo sauce over shells.**

Place your shells in a 400F oven until heated through around 20-25 minutes. When finished spoon your warm sage sauce all over and sprinkle with grated parmesan.

**If you want to freeze, this is the time to do it.  Cover prepped, uncooked shells in plastic wrap and foil to make as airtight as possible; pop in freezer for later.  To cook frozen shells, let thaw overnight and allow a good hour for cooking.