Stuffed Pasta Shells with Red Pepper Pasta Sauce

This dish was a regular growing up, and recently I decided to recreate the dish because of a what I call a memory food craving.  It has now become a regular dinner dish at our house, and one of Eric's favorites.  There are so many different variations that can be produced out of the basic ingredients:

15 Large pasta shells ( I always make this amount for leftovers for lunch or freezing for a lazy day meal)
1 jar of pasta sauce like Bertolli's or make your own sauce using a 15oz can of whole-peeled tomatoes
1 1/2 cps fat free Cottage Cheese 
3/4 cp fat free Ricotta Cheese

Sauce Add-on's (choose one or more to add to simmering jarred or *homemade sauce):
3 handfuls of Spinach
Broccoli crown, medium
Bell peppers
*Yellow onion (or other sweet onion)
*Spices/Herbs: red pepper flakes, , paprika, thyme, oregano, rosemary, sage (also add to cheese mixture)
*Garlic
*Sherry

 
Stuffed Shells with Red Pepper Pasta Sauce:

1. Make the sauce:  

• 1 can of Hunts whole tomatoes - Drain 1/2 of liquid in can and squish with bare hands in mixing bowel (be careful they squirt) or put them in a blender (less messy but also not as fun)
• 1cp of red bell peppers (I raided my freezer for previously chopped and frozen veggies)
• Garlic
• Sage, Oregano, salt and pepper to taste (fresh herbs are best, I used dried herbs from my summer herb garden)
  
• 1/4 cp Sherry

Combine the above and simmer about 45min (stirring occasionally) to thicken the sauce

2.   While the sauce is simmering, Cook shells, drain and wash off with cold water (for handling purposes)

3. Mix together the cottage cheese (1 1/2 cup) and ricotta (3/4 cp)

4.  Add herbs (in this case: dried sage leaves, rosemary, thyme and red pepper flakes) to the cheese mixture

 

5. Cover the bottom of a baking dish with a thin layer of sauce

6. Stuff the noodles with the cheese stuffing and layout along the bottom on the dish

7.  Cover the noodles with remaining sauce and  top with grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Bake at 350F for 25-30 min covered with foil

Hope you enjoy!