CROCK POT ITALIAN SAUCY SHELLS

                      

This is one of those days when I wasn’t sure what I wanted to fix for supper and I didn’t have time to go the grocery store.  So I pulled out my trusty crockpot and opened up the freezer and pantry to see what would develop.  I had some frozen ground turkey in the freezer, some herbs and cheese in the fridge and some sauce and artichoke hearts in the pantry.   The result was a delicious supper with very little effort.  Here it is for you to make----or create your own “weekday masterpiece”  and let me know what you came up with!!

Ingredients:

1 and ½ pounds ground turkey

½ onion, chopped

½ large yellow bell pepper, chopped

2 large cans Hunts tomato sauce

1 medium can Alymer diced tomatoes

½ cup torn fresh basil

2 T. chopped fresh parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

1 to 2 cans of artichoke hearts, chopped

½ t. oregano

2 T. sugar

1 box of jumbo pasta shells, uncooked

1  and ½ cups ricotta cheese

2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend

½ cup parmagiana reggiano cheese, shredded

Instructions:

*Brown ground turkey with onion and bell pepper

*Turn large crockpot on the “4 hour setting”

*Add tomato sauce and the next 7 ingredients to the crock pot, Stir to combine.

*Place pasta shells over sauce.

*Spread ricotta cheese as evenly as possible over the shells.

*Sprinkle  the final 2 cheeses over the ricotta.

*Cover and allow to cook for remaining time.

*Serve with lima beans, salad and toasted Italian bread.