Unstuffed Shells

Yesterday was such a long day, by the end, I just wanted comfort food that was easy to make. I saw an idea in a magazine for these unstuffed shells and thought I would put my own spin on it.

You need:
1 lb. macaroni shells
1/2 box of cream cheese (or more)
1/3 cup parmesan
1 cup any cheese you want grated
1/4 cup chopped basil
1 lb ground beef
1 jar of marinara sauce (or any pasta sauce you think sounds good)

- cook noodles as directed on package
- meanwhile, brown the ground beef
- add pasta sauce into ground beef one it is done, let simmer for a few minutes
- drain pasta
- in a bowl mix cream cheese, parmesan and basil (doesn't have to be perfect)
- stir shells into the cream cheese mix
- spray a baking dish with a non-stick spray
-spread half of meat mixture onto bottom of dish
- pour the noodle mixture on top
- add the rest of the meat mixture
- spread the grated cheese on top.
- bake covered at 375 degrees for 40 minutes, uncover for the last 10.

So Tasty!!!

Michael and I both loved this dish and it made tons of leftovers for his lunches during the week - which is mighty convenient. This recipe is nice because there is a lot of room for variation. You can include different cheeses or use Italian sausage or ground turkey instead! I served this with a salad and Crescent Rolls we had left over from the night before.

This is definitely not a healthy meal, but it's pretty well-rounded with some healthy sides and it's the perfect comfort food some of us need on these cold winter nights! If you make it, tell me what you thought and if you did anything differently.

Do any of you have some fun comfort food type dishes you love?