Spinach Cheesy Stuffed Shells

This is one of the first recipes I ever made up myself. It was the only way I could get my husband to eat something green. The great thing about this recipe is that it can feed a crowd for under $15.00 & usually have leftovers. I like to use fresh spinach but you can use the frozen. Just make sure to thaw & drain it really well. I also use ground sausage but you can substitute that for turkey or ground beef. If you can not find the ground sausage then buy the links & remove the casings. You can really customize it to suite your taste buds. To save time you can use whatever jar of sauce you like. I make a simple sauce that is easy to put together. 

Stacy's Simple Sauce

• 1 large can 1lb of crushed tomatoes
• 1 small 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes
• minced garlic
• Italian style bread crumbs (I use in place of tomato paste)
• olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste

Stuffed Shells Filling

• 1 package 16oz ground sausage
• 1 container Ricotta cheese 15oz
• 1 large egg
• 1 large box of shell noodles 12oz
• 1 bag fresh spinach 5oz
• 1 large bag of mozzarella 16oz

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

 For the Noodles: Add water to a large pot & salt well. This will add flavor to the noodles. Make sure to do this at the beginning of the cooking process. Bring to a boil then add noodles. Make sure to stir often so the noodles do not stick. Once the noodles have become al dente,  drain & set aside to cool.

For Stacy's Simple Sauce: Heat olive oil in a sauce pot on medium high heat. Then saute the garlic for no longer then 2 minutes. Make sure to not brown the garlic because it will become bitter. Then add in the diced tomatoes, cooking for a few minutes.  Add in the crushed tomatoes, and reduce the heat to a simmer. I like to add bread crumbs to thicken the sauce, but you can add tomato paste if you prefer. I like the richness the breadcrumbs add. Cover & simmer on low until needed.

 For The Cheesy Stuffed Shells: Brown the sausage in a skillet then drain. Put it in a large mixing bowl & set aside. If you are using the fresh spinach then chop it up in a blender or food processor. I broke my food processor, so I had to use my blender. Add a few leaves at a time, and to help with the mixing I put in a bit of the pasta water. Once all of the spinach is chopped up or made into a nice paste, add it to the sausage in the mixing bowl. Then add in the whole container of the ricotta, the egg, & half the bag of the mozzarella. The other half will be used to top the shells. Salt & pepper to taste. At this point you are ready to stuff the shells. Squeeze the shell open & spoon in the spinach mixture. Then line them in a 9x13 inch pan.

 Once you have filled all the shells, ladle the sauce over all of the shells then top with the remainder of the cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20min or until the cheese is good & melted. Take out of the oven to cool then enjoy :)