Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Shells

When I told Meghan we were having this for dinner, she did a little "happy dance".  As I have mentioned in previous posts, my family is not a huge fan of lasagna. This is another great lasagna alternative. This makes a lot of shells and I usually make one pan for dinner and one pan for the freezer (Glad makes an oven ready disposable casserole dish that works great for this). This is also a great dish to make for a pot luck or if you are making a meal for a family...you can always leave out the artichokes and it is very family friendly. I've also thought about substituting spinach for the artichokes...

Ingredients

• 12 oz jumbo pasta shells
  3 T olive oil
  1 c chopped onion
  3 cloves garlic, minced
  1 lb ground turkey
  Salt & Pepper
  1 pkg frozen artichokes, chopped or 1 can artichokes packed in water
  15 oz ricotta cheese
  3/4 c grated parmesan
  2 eggs, lightly beaten
  1/4 c chopped fresh basil
  5 c pasta sauce
  1 1/2 c grated mozzarella

Preparation

Cook shells until tender but still firm, 5-6 minutes. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until soft. Add the ground turkey, salt and pepper, cook until turkey is cooked. Add artichoke hearts, stir to combine.
In a large bowl combine the cooled turkey mixture with the ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, eggs, basil, parsley and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Cover the bottom of a 9"x13" baking dish with 1 c sauce. Stuff shells with turkey mixture. Place the shells in the pan on top of the sauce. Drizzle remaining sauce over the shells and top with the grated mozzarella.
If freezing, cover tightly with plastic wrap. To bake, preheat the oven to 400F. Bake until shells are warmed through and cheese is beginning to brown, 60 minutes if frozen, 20 minutes if fresh.