Chorizo Stuffed Pasta Shells

Here is the recipe as promised from last week's Mother's Day Celebration

Chorizo Stuffed Pasta Shells

Ingredients

1 box large pasta shells
1 32 ounce jar pasta sauce
1 lb ground chorizo
1 8 ounce block cream cheese, softened
4 cups mozzarella cheese (grated)
2 cups parmigiano reggiano
1 cup italian bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook pasta per directions on the package. Drain & set aside.
Cook chorizo in skillet until cook through.  Drain & set aside.
In a bowl, combine cream cheese, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, 1 cup parm reg, & 1/2 cup bread crumbs
Add the chorizo to the cream cheese mixture
Pour some pasta sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking dish - just enough to cover the bottom
Spoon chorizo & cream cheese filling into cooked pasta shells, then place seam down in the baking dish
Cover with the remaining pasta sauce
Top with remaining bread crumbs,  mozzarella and parm reg cheeses.
Bake until cheese is bubbly, about 25-30 minutes.

Note: This is a very versatile dish.  My family doesn't care for ricotta, so I replaced it with cream cheese.  Italian sausage, ground beef or ground turkey can be replaced for the chorizo.
Also, for a vegetarian version, you can replace the meat with more cheese, some fresh basil, and more breadcrumbs.

This dish also freezes very well.