Crockpot Pesto Stuffed Shells in Bolognese Sauce

I was looking for some comfort food and came across this recipe on Facebook. Decided to give it a try as I had to feed multiple mouths tonight. YUM YUM! My go to comfort food is Italian....lots of warm tomato sauce and cheese with pasta. Don't be misled by the description....The "crockpot" method is still quite timely once you make the Bolognese sauce and then the stuffed shells. It was literally a half day affair....but worth the effort. So glad I have the crockpot to pull out of the pantry every once in a while. Bon appetit!

CROCKPOT PESTO STUFFED SHELLS

An easy and foolproof way to make stuffed shells: use the crockpot! The pesto gives these stuffed shells delicious flavor and the three cheeses used also don't hurt to use either.

Yield: 12 shells, 4 adult servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• About 1/2 Crock-Pot Bolognese recipe
• 12 pasta shells, cooked
• For the Filling:
• 2 cups low fat cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup prepared pesto
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Extra cheeses for the top, if desired
• parsley flakes, for garnish {optional}

Directions:

1. Make Crockpot Bolognese Sauce according to directions below.
2. Spread about 1 1/2 cups of sauce into the bottom of your crockpot to serve as a base and a no-crunchy-or-burned-noodle-barrier. Set aside.
3. For the filling, stir all ingredients together until combined. Spoon filling into cooked shells, stuffing evenly. Place into bottom of crockpot, onto that sauce. 
4. Spoon more sauce over the top of each shell and sprinkle with extra cheese if you feel so inclined. Cover and cook 1 1/2 hours on high or 3 hours on low OR until hot all the way through. Sprinkle with parsley flakes and serve.
5. **Non-crockpot directions: Place shells into 9x13 baking dish, cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until hot.
6. A slow cooked, flavorful, meaty bolognese sauce made in the crock-pot! This sauce is the perfect balance of salty, creamy, rich and delicious. It will be love at first bite.

   CROCK-POT BOLOGNESE SAUCE

   Yield: 6-8 servings

   Prep Time: 30 minutes

   Cook Time: 4 hours

   Total Time: 4 hours 30 minutes

   Ingredients:

   • 2 tablespoons olive oil
   • 1 large onion, diced
   • 4 large cloves garlic, minced
   • 1/2 cup finely diced carrot
   • salt & pepper, to taste
   • 1.25 lbs. ground sirloin in the lowest fat ratio
   • 1 lb. ground pork
   • 3/4 cup red wine
   • 42 ounces plain marinara sauce {1 1/2 jars}
   • 1 14.5 oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes*
   • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves {not ground thyme!}
   • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
   • 2 bay leaves
   • 2/3 cup heavy cream

   Directions:

   1. Preheat crockpot to high.
   2. Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic and carrot 5 minutes or until they start to get tender and get a little color. Add in meat, salt & pepper. As the meat cooks, break apart into smaller pieces. Deglaze pan with red wine and cook down 5 minutes. Transfer meat mixture to crock pot. Add in remaining ingredients and stir well. Cover and cook 4 hours on high heat, stirring occasionally. 
   3. Serve over pasta.