Jeanie and Kent Hrbek’s Stuffed Shells

This is a favorite recipe of mine from many years ago when Kent Hrbek was a Minnesota Twins Superstar. I don’t remember where I got the recipe, but my best guess would be that it was in the local newspaper. It is a delicious vegetarian recipe, but is also enjoyed by meat lovers.

Ingredients

• 10 ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and well drained
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 10 ounces shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 Tablespoon fennel seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup dried parsley
• 12 ounces jumbo pasta shells, cooked, drained, and cooled
• 30 ounce jar chunky spaghetti sauce with tomatoes and mushrooms
• 8 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 Tablespoon sugar
• Additional shredded Parmesan

Directions
Make a spinach mixture by combining the spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, eggs,
1 1/2 teaspoon of the fennel, nutmeg and 1/4 cup of the parsley. Fill each pasta shell with 1 heaping teaspoon of the spinach cheese mixture. Arrange in a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Heat the spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, sugar, remaining fennel and parsley. Pour over stuffed shells. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until bubbly.