Meat and Cheese Stuffed Shells

These are not your average stuffed shells...they are above average in my opinion. These are full of meat and creamy goodness. You can use any type of ground meat for this...pork, turkey, chicken or beef. Just try to make sure you do use some type of sausage for half of the meat, it gives it great flavor. This was the first time I didn't use plain cream cheese in this recipe. My local grocery store had the Philadelphia Cooking Creme on sale and it ended up being cheaper than the plain stuff so I gave it a try. The results were wonderful.

INGREDIENTS

20 large pasta shells (this will vary on depending on how much you fill them)
½ pound bulk Italian sausage (I used a pork sausage)
½ pound ground chicken/turkey/beef/pork (I used chicken this time)
4 ounces sour cream
5 ounces cream cheese or Philadelphia Cooking Creme*
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

Preheat over to 350.

Boil pasta in salted water according to directions. Drain and set aside

Over medium/high heat cook both meats seasoned with salt and pepper. Once meat is thoroughly cooked through turn off heat and stir in sour cream, cream cheese/cooking creme and ¾ cup shredded cheese.

Evenly distribute meat mixture into the pasta shells. Place shells open side up in a 9x13 baking dish. Top shells with ¾ cup shredded cheese and bake until cheese is melted and shells are warmed through, about 15-20 minutes.

*This was the first time I have used the Philadelphia Cooking Creme and it really gave the shells a wonderful flavor. I used the Italian Cheese and Herb blend. If you go with pain cream cheese and I would some Italian seasoning to the mixture to bump up the flavor.

Recipe Rewind: Pepperoni Bruschetta and Chile Cheese Bread