These baked shotgun shells are an out of this world appetizer - pasta shells are stuffed with ground sirloin and cheese, wrapped in bacon, and baked until crispy.
Ingredients
- manicotti pasta shells (from 2 8-ounce packages): 24 piece
- lb. ground sirloin: 0.5 piece
- lb. spicy Italian sausage: 1 piece
- onion: 0.25 cup (finely chopped)
- kosher salt: 1 tsp
- black pepper: 0.5 tsp (freshly ground)
- garlic powder: 0.5 tsp
- Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese: 0.5 cup (shredded)
- (8-ounce package) garlic and herb cream cheese: 1 piece (softened)
- slices bacon (not thick cut): 24 piece
- ½ cups BBQ sauce, plus more: 1 piece (if desired)
- jalapenos, very: 2 piece (sliced, optional)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Spread shells out on a paper towel lined baking sheet and allow to drain.
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Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C).
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Combine ground sirloin, Italian sausage, onion, salt, pepper, garlicpowder, cheese, and cream cheese in a bowl. Stir until well combined and spoon mixture into a piping bag or resealable bag and cut off one corner of the bag.
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Fill each pasta shell evenly with the filling and wrap each filled shell withbacon. Place shells on a lightly greased rack set inside a baking sheet and brush evenly with barbecue sauce.
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Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, flip each shell, and brush again with barbecue sauce.
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Return to the oven and bake until deep golden brown and the bacon is slightly crispy, 25 to 30 minutes morr. Flip once more and brush with any more BBQ sauce if desired and cook 5 more minutes.
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Remove from oven, sprinkle with jalapeno slices and let stand 10 minutes before serving.
