Unstuffed Shells with Spinach

Someone I know once asked me how I find new recipes to make after almost 5 years (!!) of food blogging. I thought about it, reminded them that there are millions of recipes out there, and then joked that most of my recipes are just various versions of the same 20 ingredients in different combinations. I mean, I've made spinach stuffed shells, chicken stuffed shells, pesto stuffed shells, and now I take those, change it a bit, and create "unstuffed shells". Essentially this is a take on baked ziti- pasta/cheese/sauce- mix and bake. My son is a HUGE fan of baked ziti so I knew this would be a hit. The original recipe calls for making a meat sauce but I skipped that, stirred in some spinach for a healthier boost, and called it a day. This was very good. I am a fan of the Philadelphia cooking creams so I really enjoyed this meal. John and Landon were fans too- therefore I can assure you it'll be made again.

Source: Heavily adapted from Somewhat Simple

Ingredients:
1/2 pound medium pasta shells, uncooked
2 cups marinara sauce
1/2 tub (10 oz.) Cooking Creme (I used Philadelphia’s Italian Herb flavor)
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

5 oz frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese


DIRECTIONS:
1- Heat oven to 375ºF. Cook pasta as directed on package. 

2- Drain pasta. Mix cooking creme, basil, spinach, parmesan, mozzarella, and hot pasta in a large bowl. 

3- Spread 1 cup sauce onto bottom of 8x8 -inch baking dish. Top with pasta. Spread remaining sauce lightly over the top. This dish can be refrigerated at this point for up to 24 hours.

4- Bake for 40 minutes, covered. Serve hot.