Stuffed Shells

For one of my New Year's Resolutions, I decided to make at least one new recipe each month. Being the procrastinator that I am, I waited until today (January 31st) to make the first one. To be honest, I almost scratched the idea completely because we were out and about until about 8 o'clock and I wanted to just eat dinner and be done with it. Anyway, this is what I came up with.

Ingredients:

1 package jumbo pasta shells
2 cups cottage cheese (I used the stuff made with 0% milk fat)
2 cups ricotta cheese (the lowfat stuff again)
12 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 pinch garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp parsley
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 can alfredo sauce

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Then start cooking the pasta shells. I use a little bit of salt when I cook pasta to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan. While the pasta shells are cooking, mix together the cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 2 eggs (I beat them in a separate bowl and then added them), and garlic powder. To add the oregano and parsley, put the amounts in your hands and rub them together to break up the spices. I got the El Guapo brand spice packs for these. They smell so good and look so fresh. It beats the stuff in the jars hands down. Mix it all together. When the shells are done cooking, drain the water and rinse them in cold water immediately to stop them from cooking. In a glass baking pan, spread about 1/3 of the sauce along the bottom of the pan. Stuff the shells with the cheese mixture and place them close together on the pan with the opening up. I ended up fitting about 30 shells in the pan. I also ended up with about 1/2 a cup of extra cheese mixture. I mixed the rest of the cheese mixture with the remaining 2/3 of the sauce and then poured it over the top of the shells. Top the whole thing with the 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese and bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until bubbly. Let it cool for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy! I know I will.