Meat Sauce

• Melt butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one minute, until fragrant.
• Add the ground sirloin and cook until no longer pink, breaking it up with a spoon or spatula as it cooks.
• Stir in the beef broth and crushed tomatoes. Stir in the oregano, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer. Cover and allow to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile in a clean bowl, mix together the ricotta, cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of mozzarella, parmesan, egg yolks, basil, lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and black pepper. Mix until completely blended and smooth. Set aside.
• Cook the jumbo shell pasta according to package directions. Drain and allow the shells to cool on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
• Fill each pasta shell with a couple of tablespoons of the cheese mixture. Use a soup spoon or a cookie scoop to help you fill the shells.
• Cover the bottom of a casserole dish with about 1 1/2 cups of the meat sauce. Arrange the cheese stuffed pasta shells on top of the sauce. Top the shells with the remaining meat sauce. Then top the shells with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese.
• Cover the dish with foil and bake at 375 degrees F for about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and increase the temperature to 500 degrees. Bake for about 10 minutes more, until the top is just starting to brown a bit.