Upside Down Ravioli

I wrote this on our weekly menu list and Evan stared at it and then looked at me funny. "Um, if it's upside down ravioli...isn't it the same? Ravioli looks the same on both sides."

I have no idea why it's called this, but it was super yummy. And not ravioli like whatsoever.

The ingredients:

8 oz. jumbo shells; 1 lb. ground beef; 2 Tbsp. olive oil; 6 oz. baby spinach, chopped; 1 C. finely chopped onion; 1 garlic clove, minced; 1 tsp. salt; 1/4 tsp. pepper; 1/8 tsp. nutmeg; 1 egg; 1/4 C. parmesan cheese; 26 oz. marinara sauce of your choosing; 1/2 C. reserved pasta water. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the jumbo shells while you brown the beef and onions together in a large skillet.
While all of that is a bubblin' and a brewin', take that lovely spinach...
and chop the living day lights out of it.
Add it to the beef once it's browned and drained of grease.
Now, add the olive oil...
the garlic that I totally forgot to put in the ingredients picture...

the reserved pasta water...
Stir like you have never stirred before!! Remove the skillet from the heat.
Now, add the salt...
the pepper...
and the nutmeg. Let the mixture cool for a few minutes.
Once the meat mixture is cooled, as the parmesan...
and the egg. Stir again.
In a 9x13 dish, pour 1 Cup of the marinara sauce into the bottom of the pan and spread it around.
Take your jumbo shells and fill them with the meat mixture.
Line them up in the dish. (Does this remind anyone else of the story from Alice in Wonderland when the walrus eats the clams? Anyone? Anyone???)
Pour the rest of the marinara sauce over the top of the shells.
I tried to put them directly into the oven to cook, I really did!! But, I just couldn't. They looked so naked. So, I grabbed a bag of mozzarella cheese and dumped some on top.
Phew. I feel so much better about this dish now.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Mmm...melted cheese. You make my pasta dishes so deliciously beautiful.
We ate our Upside Down Ravioli with salad and Italian bread.
I loved this dish. I found the meat mixture super yummy and different than other stuffed pasta dishes that ask for a lot of cheeses to be in the mixture. It made for good leftovers, too.

Evan does not like jumbo shells. He can not give me a reason why. I think he's just a complete weirdo, but that's just my humble opinion. Despite the pasta I used, he did like the dish and agreed with me about the meat mixture being yummy.

This would be a great dish to make for company or if you have a larger family because it definitely makes a lot.

Enjoy!