# Stuffed Shells - Without preboiling them



## MostlyWater (Jul 20, 2008)

Wish me luck, I'm trying this for the first time!  I don't know where I read it, but they said to prepare the past a dish with plenty of tomato sauce in the pan, and let it sit overnight in it.


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## elaine l (Jul 20, 2008)

Good luck is right.  I tried it once.  It comes out okay but different consistency.  The pasta shell seems more firm and chewy.  Just my take.  You may love it.


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## larry_stewart (Jul 20, 2008)

I saw a martha stewart episode with guest Alan Alda.  He was showing her some of his favorite recipes when he travelled to Italy.  He mixed uncooked ziti with about 3/4 cup of olive oil.  Let it sit for about 45 minutes. Then mix with crushed tomatoes, salt , pepper and bake about ( i dont remember ) Then add parmesan cheese.

I was skeptical, but tried it. It was actually pretty good ( and easy)

But as mentioned above, the consistency was different.  A little chewier/ rubberier ( if thats a word).  But definitely a different take on baked ziti .

Never tried it with shells.  I know there are some lasagna recipes that do it that way.


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## Andy M. (Jul 20, 2008)

Is cooking the pasta that big of a deal that you have to settle for chewy and rubbery shells?


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## larry_stewart (Jul 20, 2008)

Honestly, I kinda liked the rubbery feel in that Alan Alda ziti dish.  Im not saying I would shoot for that every time, but as a variation, i kinda liked it, and I make once or twice a year.


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## kitchenelf (Jul 20, 2008)

I think unless your shells are totally immersed in sauce with enough liquid for them to absorb I don't see it working.


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## MostlyWater (Jul 21, 2008)

it's for dinner tonite, and so far so good except for the fact that i couldn't get all the mixture into each shell.


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## Andy M. (Jul 21, 2008)

MostlyWater said:


> ...i couldn't get all the mixture into each shell.


 

Another drawback of using uncooked shells...


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## quicksilver (Jul 21, 2008)

So, at 9:28pm EDT, what is the verdict?​


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## kitchenelf (Jul 21, 2008)

quicksilver said:


> So, at 9:28pm EDT, what is the verdict?​



They're still cooking 

I'm curious too - how did they turn out???


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## TATTRAT (Jul 21, 2008)

Andy M. said:


> Is cooking the pasta that big of a deal that you have to settle for chewy and rubbery shells?





kitchenelf said:


> I think unless your shells are totally immersed in sauce with enough liquid for them to absorb I don't see it working.





Andy M. said:


> Another drawback of using uncooked shells...





kitchenelf said:


> They're still cooking
> 
> I'm curious too - how did they turn out???



like school lunch, I imagine, dry on top, crusty around the rim, rubbery throughout, but a good jaw workout.

just my $.02


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## quicksilver (Jul 21, 2008)

kitchenelf said:


> They're still cooking


 (just so you know, I just went to post the below, and the screen cleared, took me to the top of page, where the welcome, quicksilver is on the right, and quicksilver
flashed red, then back to blue, then back here again to post) 
Anyway, K.e


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## redgriller (Jul 21, 2008)

I’ve done this a few times with great results. I use Rigatoni shells which are A LOT easier to stuff when they are hard and uncooked. All I’ve had to do is add an extra 1 to 1.5 cups of water, cover, and bake. For example, the last time I did this, I stuffed the “raw” shells with a cheese mixture, layered them in a pan, and added a tomato sauce with an extra 1 cup of water. Covered and baked and it turned out phenomenal. Perfect. 

The key is, like cooking rice, to add extra water to your recipe to account for cooking the dry pasta. It’s worked for me several times with no chewy pasta and no burnt ends. Just make sure your pasta is completely submerged, you add some extra water, and you keep it covered for baking. It works like a charm and is so much easier to stuff Rigatoni than trying to fill it after it is cooked and limp.


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## kitchenelf (Jul 21, 2008)

Rigatoni makes sense and those shells would be immersed.  I've never made stuffed shells where the shells were completely immersed.  I really hope they turned out - I'm sure there would be a way to recover if they didn't - hopefully!


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## redgriller (Jul 21, 2008)

For a large shell like conchiglioni, I’m not sure what would happen, but with rigatoni, a smaller shell that is easily submersed, it works great. Then again, a shell like conchiglioni can be easily stuffed after it is cooked. 
 
Also, they are making the “bake” noodles these days where you just add dry noodles, extra water, and then bake. It’s rather popular for lasagna.


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## kitchenelf (Jul 22, 2008)

I tried the lasagna noodles (the no cooking first) one time - didn't like them at all!


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## redgriller (Jul 22, 2008)

A bit chewy huh? That's what I thought.

It seems the regular noodles do better than the "bake" noodles if you put them in the right environment with proper liquid. Kind of like rice and baking.


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## kitchenelf (Jul 22, 2008)

Let's just say the texture sure was "off"


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## redgriller (Jul 22, 2008)

We goofed once when I was making lasagna and got the "bake" noodles. I wasn't up to speed on adjusting the new recipe (first time making lasgana) and the noodles were definitely a bit "off". DW said it was good, but I know the noodles were the downfall of that dish! 

Edited to add: Ok, I'll be honest, something went wrong and the noodles were really bad!!!


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## Andy M. (Jul 22, 2008)

I still don't get it.  All this is to avoid boiling water?


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## elaine l (Jul 22, 2008)

Yup, that's why I tried it.  Never again.


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## MostlyWater (Jul 22, 2008)

THEY WERE FABULOUS!

I didn't even tell my family how I made them !

But the next time, I will make a whole recipe of filling, just smaller (like I used a large pckge of ricotta cheese and no shredded cheese; next time I will use a small pkge of each).

Thansk for asking !


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## kitchenelf (Jul 22, 2008)

Glad they turned out MW!!!!


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## MostlyWater (Jul 22, 2008)

it was worth it for the shells as it m ade filling them much easier.  you have to use tons more liquid and let it sit overnight, so i don't think it'd be any easier for ziti or mac and cheese.  for those, i'd just preboil.

the jury is out for lasagne, though.


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## B'sgirl (Jul 22, 2008)

I bake chicken inside of uncooked manicotti shells all the time and it's never been chewy. I drown them in sauce and stuff them with chicken and cream cheese and they turn out really good.


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## Callisto in NC (Jul 22, 2008)

B'sgirl said:


> I bake chicken inside of uncooked manicotti shells all the time and it's never been chewy. I drown them in sauce and stuff them with chicken and cream cheese and they turn out really good.


That sounds really good.  Could you post the recipe?


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## JillBurgh (Jul 22, 2008)

Thanks for the update. What a time-saver your experiment is for the rest of us!


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## redgriller (Jul 22, 2008)

Andy M. said:


> I still don't get it. All this is to avoid boiling water?


 
For me it was to make stuffing Rigatoni easier. I've tried stuffing cooked Rigatoni with a piping bag, and it is so much easier to stuff the uncooked tubes. Just spread your filling out on a plate or bowl, grab an uncooked Rigatoni tube and press down into the filling 2 or 3 time to fill. Fast and easy. When you're stuffing 50 to 60 tubes, this really helps.


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## Andy M. (Jul 22, 2008)

redgriller said:


> For me it was to make stuffing Rigatoni easier. I've tried stuffing cooked Rigatoni with a piping bag, and it is so much easier to stuff the uncooked tubes. Just spread your filling out on a plate or bowl, grab an uncooked Rigatoni tube and press down into the filling 2 or 3 time to fill. Fast and easy. When you're stuffing 50 to 60 tubes, this really helps.


 

Sounds good.  

The original subject was stuffed shells and an earlier poster commented that they couldn't get as much stuffing into the shells because they were uncooked.


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## B'sgirl (Jul 22, 2008)

Callisto in NC said:


> That sounds really good.  Could you post the recipe?




You can use any kind of pasta sauce you want--bottled, homemade, etc. When I'm lazy I use bottled sauce, when I'm not I use a lasagne sauce out of the Better Homes cookbook. I have never tried it with alfredo sauce, I'm not sure it has enough liquid for the noodles but it sounds good. 

It is adapted by me from the Betty Crocker Easy Family Dinners recipe book. 

1 egg
cottage or ricotta cheese
parmesean cheese
fresh or dry parsley
fresh or dry oregano
26-30oz pasta sauce
garlic salt
1 1/2lbs chicken tenders
14 uncooked manicotti shells
2 c shredded mozzarella cheese
chopped fresh basil leaves

Heat oven to 350. Beat egg in a bowl. Mix in cottage and parmesean cheese, parsley, and oregano (Sorry, I make this part up and don't measure so you'll have to guess the amounts). Set aside. Spread about 1/3 of pasta sauce in ungreased rectangular baking dish, 13x9x2 inches. Sprinkle garlic salt on chicken. Insert chicken into manicotti shells, stuffing from each end of shell to fill if necessary. Fill in any gaps with cottage cheese mixture. Place shells on pasta sauce in dish. Put the rest of the cottage cheese mixture to fill in space around the shells. Pour remaining pasta sauce evenly over shells, covering completely. Sprinkle with cheese.  Cover and bake about 1 1/2 hours or until shells are tender. Sprinkle with basil.


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## Callisto in NC (Jul 22, 2008)

Thank you. Sounds great.


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## MostlyWater (Jul 22, 2008)

no way am i gonna wash out a pastry shell bag and no way am i gonna make 50 or 60 shells.  

i stick to one box and the recipe on the box.


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## redgriller (Jul 22, 2008)

MostlyWater said:


> no way am i gonna wash out a pastry shell bag and no way am i gonna make 50 or 60 shells.
> 
> i stick to one box and the recipe on the box.


 
Rigatoni (a tube pasta) is a lot smaller than the jumbo shells. There are 60 to 80 pieces in a bag. 

Rigatoni - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## MostlyWater (Jul 22, 2008)

no way would i sit and stuff such tiny pasta.  no way !!!!!


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## redgriller (Jul 22, 2008)

MostlyWater said:


> no way would i sit and stuff such tiny pasta. no way !!!!!


 
It's a bit of work to be sure, and every time I do it I ask DW repeatedly who's bright idea it was (mine) and I swear I won't do it again. Yet, I eventually forget the "pain", as our minds tend to do, and I do it again. It really is a great dish. I can stuff 50-60 tubes in less than 20 minutes, so it isn't that bad really.


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## Andy M. (Jul 22, 2008)

redgriller said:


> It's a bit of work to be sure, and every time I do it I ask DW repeatedly who's bright idea it was (mine) and I swear I won't do it again. Yet, I eventually forget the "pain", as our minds tend to do, and I do it again. It really is a great dish. I can stuff 50-60 tubes in less than 20 minutes, so it isn't that bad really.


 

HAve you ever considered stuffing elbow macaroni?


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## MostlyWater (Jul 22, 2008)

elbow noodles?


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## Andy M. (Jul 22, 2008)

Elbow macaroni.


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## MostlyWater (Jul 23, 2008)

you're joking, right ?


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## Andy M. (Jul 23, 2008)

MostlyWater said:


> you're joking, right ?


 

About stuffing them?  Yes, in response to redgriller's post about stuffing smaller pasta's being time consuming but worth it.


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## MostlyWater (Jul 23, 2008)

there should be a law.  stuffing is only for a big cavity.


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## redgriller (Jul 23, 2008)

Andy M. said:


> HAve you ever considered stuffing elbow macaroni?


 
That's a bit much even for me. 

Besides, I've never heard of Stuffed Elbow Macaroni, but I have heard of, as well as eaten, many different "Stuffed Rigatoni" dishes. Haven't you?


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## Andy M. (Jul 23, 2008)

redgriller said:


> ...I have heard of, as well as eaten, many different "Stuffed Rigatoni" dishes. Haven't you?


 

Yes.


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## LEFSElover (Aug 1, 2008)

Love to Tivo Jamie Olivers at home show.
The other day while watching it, he did stuffed shells sans boiling them first, said it was all in the sauce and how they absorb moisture that way.


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## LEFSElover (Aug 1, 2008)

well I guess I know what's for dinner tonight.
really love stuffed shells of any kind. with the typical ingredients of ric/mozz/spin/parm/s&p/egg/smothered with tom sauce, then more cheese on top and baked to golden, although it's hot outside, this is for dinner tonight, especially since all is in the kitchen store.

Oh, and I'll be boiling the giant conk shells first, not going to tempt fate.


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