Stuffed Shells with Sausage and Spinach
(from lpower86’s recipe box)
The filling for these stuffed shells are not too gooey or soft, so not only do they make for an excellent dinner served with a salad on the side, they double as finger food for your next party. Substitute pork sausage for chicken sausage, just add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan before adding the chicken sausage so it does not stick to the pan.
Source: http://www.inspiredtaste.net
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Serves 4 people
Categories: dinner, pasta, sausage
Ingredients
- 16-18 jumbo pasta shells
- 1 pound fresh pork sausage links, casing removed
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and squeeze dry
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and fill a large bowl with cold water and ice, set aside. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta shells and cook according to package directions. Drain well then add to ice water until ready to stuff.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork sausage then use a wooden spoon to break up the sausage, cook 5-6 minutes until browned. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds then add tomatoes and spinach; cook 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and stir in ricotta cheese.
- Using a spoon, fill pasta shells with pork filling and arrange in a baking dish (9-inch x 9-inch baking dish works well). Sprinkle tops with shredded cheese then bake in the oven 25-30 minutes until cheese has melted and tips of shells begin to crisp and brown.